title: Association between periodontitis and acute myocardial infarction: a case-control study of a nondiabetic population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Periodontitis and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are two diseases that share common risk factors. The role of periodontitis as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease has been under debate. The aim of this study was to investigate whether an association exists between periodontitis and AMI in a nondiabetic population, using multiple periodontal case definitions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Periodontal examination was performed in 204 patients with AMI. The control group comprised 102 healthy subjects, without significant coronary disease, confirmed angiographically. Periodontitis was assessed using measurements of clinical attachment loss (CAL), probing depth and number of missing teeth. From these measurements, five different case definitions of periodontitis were generated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using the continuous forms of periodontal measurements, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of the association with incident AMI was 1.74 (1.26-2.50), 1.83 (1.10-3.17) and 1.08 (1.06-1.13) for mean CAL, probing depth and number of missing teeth, respectively. A consistent positive association was observed regardless of the case definition of periodontitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this nondiabetic population, the association between periodontitis and AMI was consistent across different measurements and/or definitions of periodontitis. The strength of the association increased concomitantly with the robustness of the criteria used to define periodontitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kodovazenitis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pitsavos
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Papadimitriou
authors.forename: I A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Vrotsos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefanadis
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Madianos
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003402:Creatine Kinase / Q000097:blood; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000453:epidemiology; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D019210:Troponin I; D003402:Creatine Kinase
keywords: acute myocardial infarction; coronary angiography; coronary heart disease; periodontitis