title: Periodontal disease and systemic diseases in an older population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationship between older adults' medical and oral conditions and their self-reports of periodontal conditions with clinically obtained data.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Concerns about oral health of elders and its association with systemic diseases have been gaining more attention.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 201 older subjects were interviewed about their previous medical and dental histories and were asked to complete a health questionnaire. Each subject received full mouth exam, including counting number of natural teeth remaining, gingival (GI) and plaque index (PI), CPITN and denture status.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Elders who completed health questionnaires had mean age of 62.5. Mean CPITN score was 1.62(± 1.12), PI was 1.57(± 1.48), and GI was 1.55(± 1.31). Women had higher prevalence of CVD and osteoporosis than men (p=0.008, p=0.0001, respectively). Subjects who reported bleeding upon brushing had higher PI and GI scores (p=0.03, p=0.05, respectively). Smokers were more likely to describe their periodontal tissues as unhealthy (72.3% vs. 27.7%, p=0.01), whereas self-reports of healthy vs. unhealthy gums did not differ between non-smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that a number of systemic conditions are associated with indicators of periodontal disease, and self-reports of oral conditions are independent of systemic diseases.
authors.affiliation: University of Ege, School of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: ozgunozcaka@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Özgün
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Özçaka
authors.affiliation: University of Ege, School of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Becerik
authors.affiliation: University of Ege, School of Dentistry, Department of Periodontology, İzmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nurgün
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bıçakcı
authors.affiliation: University of Washington, School of Dentistry, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Asuman H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kiyak
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Older adults; Periodontitis; Self-reports; Smoking; Systemic diseases