Association between periodontitis and acquired coronary heart disease

Abstract

Background: The association between oral microbial infection and systemic disease is not a new concept. A major confounding issue is that oral infections often are only one of the many important factors that can influence systemic diseases .Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the periodontal health status of patients with acquired coronary heart disease. Type of the study: Cross-sectional study.Methods: The study group consisted of 200 patients with an age range (35-70) years, having coronary heart disease .This study group were compared to a control group of non-coronary heart disease (200 individuals ) matching with age and gender. The oral parameters were examined including the periodontal conditions, assessment of periodontal loss of attachment as well as the missing teeth according to the World Health Organization criteria (1997)(1) were followed for diagnosis and recording of oral health status.Results: Results of the present study show that the total sample had a highly significantly periodontitis and periodontal loss of attachment with advancing age (P<0.01), while no statistically significant differences were found between males and females with periodontal condition and periodontal loss of attachment among the study group (P>0.05), while there was significant differences among their corresponding controls (P<0.05). High percentage of missing teeth was recorded among the study and control group. Highly statistically significant differences were seen between study and control groups in all the degree of severity related with periodontal conditions (P<0.001).Conclusion: The data showed that 50.5%, 35% of the control group were with periodontal disease and loss of attachment respectively compared with study group 68%, 58.5% . The present study indicate that periodontal disease more common among patients with CHD than among controls matched for age and gender. Thus the possibility that chronic oral infection or similar factor may he positively associated with CHD at least in form patients susceptible to CHD.Although causality cannot be inferred from the present data, the observed association between chronic oral infections and CHD for susceptible patients in the present study can not be excluded