title: Assessment of arterial stiffness in periodontitis using a novel pulse wave imaging methodology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the cross-sectional relationship between periodontal status and arterial stiffness, assessed through a novel Pulse Wave Imaging methodology.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty volunteers were enrolled (39% male, age range 24-78 years) and 33 pairs were formed of periodontitis patients/periodontally healthy controls, matched by age and gender. A full-mouth periodontal examination was performed and the degree of stiffness of the right and left carotid arteries was assessed by measuring pulse wave velocity (PWV) and the uniformity in pulse wave propagation (R2). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests for paired observations were used to compare periodontitis patients and healthy controls. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to analyze the association between PWV and R2and potential explanatory variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with periodontitis had a statistically significantly lower uniformity in wave propagation (R2) than controls (p = .01), but PWV did not differ between the two groups. Univariate analysis showed a significant negative association between R2and periodontitis, body mass index and smoking; periodontitis remained statistically associated with R2in the multivariate analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with periodontitis and no established cardiovascular disease presented with lower degree of uniformity in the transmission of the pulse wave through the carotid arteries, suggesting an association between periodontitis and arterial stiffness/functional alterations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Elena C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9728-3964
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Sanz-Miralles
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Momen-Heravi
authors.affiliation: Periodontics Unit, Faculty of Odontology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mendieta
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Elisa E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Konofagou
authors.affiliation: Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Panos N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Papapanou
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D055113:Chronic Periodontitis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D012907:Smoking; D059289:Vascular Stiffness; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: atherosclerosis; cardiovascular; periodontal; pulse wave velocity