Aim: To investigate the association between periodontal disease and atherosclerosis and to examine whether the association is modified by hypertension status.
Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1472 Japanese individuals aged 50-79 years who underwent a medical check-up, dental examination, and carotid ultrasonography were studied. Carotid atherosclerosis was expressed as the maximum and mean carotid intima-media thickness (max-IMT, mean-IMT) and the presence of stenosis (≥75%). Periodontal status was examined by the Community Periodontal Index (CPI, codes 0-4). The participants were divided into three groups according to the periodontal status (CPI0-2, CPI3, CPI4).
Results: A positive correlation was found between mean-IMT and periodontal disease after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors in the entire cohort (mean-IMT in hypertensives: CPI0-2: 0.848 mm, CPI3: 0.857 mm, CPI4: 0.877 mm; normotensives: 0.782, 0.802, 0.826). In the entire cohort, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio of stenosis based on mean-IMT significantly increased according to periodontal status in normotensives (odds ratio; CPI0-2: 1, CPI3: 1.39, CPI4: 2.53; p-value for trend = .004) but showed only marginal significant increase in hypertensives (1, 1.15, 1.55; p-value for trend = .063). No significant relationships were observed for max-IMT in all analyses.
Conclusion: We observed an association between periodontal disease and atherosclerosis in normotensive and hypertensive participants.
Keywords: atherosclerosis; carotid intima-media thickness; cross-sectional study; hypertension; periodontal disease.
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