title: Waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio are associated with periodontal pocketing-results of the Health 2000 Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Body mass index (BMI) has been found to associate with different parameters of chronic periodontal disease in previous studies. It is reasonable to expect that central adiposity measures, such as waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio, which indirectly takes into account visceral fat, are more accurate measures of obesity-related oral health risks than BMI. The aim of this study was to examine whether central obesity is associated with periodontal pocketing, an indication of infectious chronic periodontal disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was based on a subpopulation from the national Health 2000 Survey in Finland. It included dentate, non-diabetic, never-smoking subjects aged 30-49 (n = 1287). The outcome variable was the number of teeth with deepened periodontal pockets (4 mm or more) and the number of teeth with deep periodontal pockets (6 mm or more). Central obesity was measured by means of waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Poisson regression models were used to estimate prevalence rate ratios (PRR) and their 95% confidence intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our main finding was that both WC and WHtR were associated with the number of teeth with deeper (4 mm or more) periodontal pockets; the PRR for the fifth quintile in WC was 1.5, CI: 1.2-1.9 and in WHtR 1.4, CI: 1.1-1.7, when compared to the lowest quintile. Corresponding figures for deep (6 mm or more) periodontal pockets were 2.3, CI: 0.9-6.1 for WC and 1.9, CI: 0.8-4.4 for WHtR. There were no essential differences in the strengths of the associations between WC and WHtR and the number of teeth with deepened periodontal pockets.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both central adipose measures-WC and WHtR-seem to be associated with periodontal pocketing in non-diabetic, never-smoking subjects aged 30-49 years old.
authors.affiliation: Private Dental Office Viisaudenhammas, Rovaniemi, Finland.
authors.forename: Sanna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kangas
authors.affiliation: Dental Training Clinic, Social and Health Services, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Timonen
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knuuttila
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Antti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jula
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.|Periodontology and Geriatric Dentistry, Unit of Oral Health Sciences Research, P.O. Box 5281, FI-90014, Oulu, Finland.|Institute of Dentistry, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, Kuopio, Finland.|Oral and Maxillofacial Department, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ylöstalo
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Center Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. Anna-Maija.Syrjala@oulu.fi.|Periodontology and Geriatric Dentistry, Unit of Oral Health Sciences Research, P.O. Box 5281, FI-90014, Oulu, Finland. Anna-Maija.Syrjala@oulu.fi.
authors.forename: Anna-Maija Hannele
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Syrjälä
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000150:complications*; D010514:Periodontal Pocket / Q000150:complications*; D055105:Waist Circumference
keywords: Overweight; Periodontal disease; Periodontal pocketing; Waist circumference; Waist-to-height ratio