title: Coffee consumption and periodontal disease in males.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Coffee is a major dietary source of antioxidants as well as of other anti-inflammatory factors. Given the beneficial role of such factors in periodontal disease, whether coffee intake is associated with periodontal disease in adult males was explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  Existing data collected by a prospective, closed-panel cohort study of aging and oral health in adult males was used. Participants included the 1,152 dentate males in the Veterans Affairs (VA) Dental Longitudinal Study who presented for comprehensive medical and dental examinations from 1968 to 1998. Mean age at baseline was 48 years; males were followed for up to 30 years. Participants are not VA patients; rather, they receive their medical and dental care in the private sector. Periodontal status was assessed by probing depth (PD), bleeding on probing, and radiographic alveolar bone loss (ABL), measured on intraoral periapical radiographs with a modified Schei ruler method. Moderate-to-severe periodontal disease was defined as cumulative numbers of teeth exhibiting PD ≥4 mm or ABL ≥40%. Coffee intake was obtained from participant self-reports using the Cornell Medical Index and food frequency questionnaires. Multivariate repeated-measures generalized linear models estimated mean number of teeth with moderate-to-severe disease at each examination by coffee intake level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a small but significant reduction in number of teeth with periodontal bone loss. No evidence was found that coffee consumption was harmful to periodontal health.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Coffee consumption may be protective against periodontal bone loss in adult males.
authors.affiliation: Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Department of Health Policy and Health Services Research, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Elizabeth Krall
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kaye
authors.forename: Raul I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D016301:Alveolar Bone Loss / Q000517:prevention & control; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003069:Coffee; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003728:Dental Calculus / Q000145:classification; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D004522:Educational Status; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000517:prevention & control; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D003069:Coffee
keywords: Alveolar bone loss; caffeine; coffee; cohort studies; nutritional sciences; periodontitis