title: Cross-Sectional Association Between Number of Teeth and High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Among Middle-Aged Germans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The association between number of teeth and low-grade systemic inflammation deserves consideration within the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam since the association between number of teeth and myocardial infarction has been established.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two subsamples (n = 2,439 and 728) were randomly selected from EPIC-Potsdam. Participants provided information on number of natural teeth, anthropometry, lifestyle factors, and illness-related factors. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) was measured from serum. Adjusted means of hsCRP across five categories of numbers of teeth in each subsample and in the combined sample were determined, and linear trends were checked. Non-linear associations were investigated with restricted cubic spline (RCS) regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the first subsample, the full multivariable-adjusted model showed that participants with 28 to 32, 24 to 27, 18 to 23, 1 to 17, and 0 teeth had mean hsCRP values of 1.32, 1.39, 1.54, 1.38, and 1.48 mg/L, respectively; in the second subsample, mean hsCRP values were 1.64, 1.67, 1.73, 1.47, and 1.87 mg/L; combined hsCRP values were 1.49, 1.53, 1.64, 1.44, and 1.65 mg/L. No linear trend was observed in these models, and RCS regression showed no non-linear association.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that number of teeth has a weak association with hsCRP, if any, thereby excluding this marker of low-grade systemic inflammation as a possible explanation for the association between number of teeth and myocardial infarction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Nuthetal, Germany.
authors.forename: Kolade
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oluwagbemigun
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, The School of Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pischon
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Surgery, The School of Dentistry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Nuthetal, Germany.
authors.forename: Heiner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boeing
mesh_terms: D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016388:Tooth Loss
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein
keywords: C-reactive protein; epidemiology; inflammation; risk factors tooth