title: Is there an occupational status gradient in the development of periodontal disease in Japanese workers? A 5-year prospective cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Development of periodontal disease (PD) may be affected by socioeconomic status. This study examined the relationship between occupational status and PD in a 5-year prospective cohort of Japanese workers.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 19,633 participants had initial examinations at the Aichi Health Promotion Foundation, of whom 8210 participants aged 20 years or older did not have PD. Follow-up examinations were conducted for 3757 participants, accounting for 45.8% of baseline participants. Ultimately, 3390 participants were analyzed according to the criterion of job classification at baseline, which was based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations, 1987. Oral examinations were performed using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). The CPI scores were coded as follows: healthy (score of 0); bleeding after probing (1); dental calculus (2); shallow pockets (3); and deep pockets (4). Participants with one or more sextants with a score >2 were diagnosed with PD. Poisson regression analysis was performed to adjust for age and other potential confounders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 31.6% of men and 23.8% of women had developed PD (CPI scores of 3 or 4). The adjusted relative risk (RR) for PD (CPI scores of 3 or 4) in men was not significant. On the other hand, the adjusted RRs for PD (CPI score of 4) in men were 2.52-, 2.39-, and 2.74-fold higher for skilled workers, sales persons, and drivers, respectively, than for professionals. In contrast, we found no gradient in women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a gradient related to the risk of developing PD according to occupational status among men in a Japanese worker population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry and Dental Public Health, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, Nagoya, Japan; Department of Preventive Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Irie
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Mie University Hospital, Tsu, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.affiliation: Aichi Health Promotion Foundation, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Saori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yoshii
authors.affiliation: Aichi Health Promotion Foundation, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry and Dental Public Health, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, Nagoya, Japan. Electronic address: shima@dpc.agu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimazaki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D017678:Sex Distribution; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Behavior; Cohort study; Lifestyle factors; Occupation; Periodontitis