Association of Oral Health and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors “Results from a Community Based Study on 5900 Adult Subjects”

Objectives. This study aimed to determine the association between some oral health status as a risk factor for cardiac diseases and other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in a sample of Iranian population in 2011. Methods. The study recruited 5900 inhabitants who aged 15-75 years old of Kerman city through a population based cluster sampling. Having collected informed consent, participants were interviewed for CVD risk factors. Some oral health indicators such as DMFT, Gingival Inflammation index, and Community Periodontal Index were assessed. The association between oral health indices and CVD risk factors was tested using multivariate regression models. Results. The mean age of participants was 33.5 years, and 45.1% were male. Moderate gingival inflammation was observed in 67.6% of participants. Presence of sub- or supragingival calculus was more common (90%) in participants. Older age (RR from 2.7 to 3.88), cigarette smoking (RR = 1.49), and high blood glucose (RR = 1.41) showed an increased risk for oral diseases after adjustment for different covariates including established CVD risk factors. Conclusion. The study results showed an increase in periodontal diseases in the presence of some CVD risk factors. Therefore there may be a bilateral but independent association for both conditions and common risk factor approach preventive program is highly recommended.