Poor Oral Health and Inflammatory, Hemostatic, and Cardiac Biomarkers in Older Age: Results From Two Studies in the UK and USA.
BACKGROUND
We examined the association of objective and subjective oral health markers with inflammatory, hemostatic, and cardiac biomarkers in older age.


METHODS
Cross-sectional analyses were based on the British Regional Heart Study (BRHS) comprising British men aged 71-92 years (n = 2,147), and the Health, Aging and Body Composition (HABC) Study comprising American men and women aged 71-80 years (n = 3,075). Oral health markers included periodontal disease, tooth count, dry mouth. Inflammatory biomarkers included C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) in both studies, and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), von Willebrand Factor (vWF), fibrin D-dimer, high-sensitivity Troponin T (hsTnT), and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) only in the BRHS.


RESULTS
In both studies, tooth loss, was associated with the top tertile of CRP-odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence interval [CI]) are 1.31 (1.02-1.68) in BRHS; and 1.40 (1.13-1.75) in the HABC Study, after adjusting for confounders. In the HABC Study, cumulative (≥3) oral health problems were associated with higher levels of CRP (OR [95% CI] =1.42 [1.01-1.99]). In the BRHS, complete and partial tooth loss was associated with hemostatic factors, in particular with the top tertile of fibrin D-dimer (OR [95% CI] = 1.64 [1.16-2.30] and 1.37 [1.05-1.77], respectively). Tooth loss and periodontal disease were associated with increased levels of hsTnT.


CONCLUSIONS
Poor oral health in older age, particularly tooth loss, was consistently associated with some inflammatory, hemostatic, and cardiac biomarkers. Prospective studies and intervention trials could help understand better if poor oral health is causally linked to inflammatory, hemostatic, and cardiac biomarkers.
['Kotronia|Eftychia|E|', 'Wannamethee|S Goya|SG|', 'Papacosta|A Olia|AO|', 'Whincup|Peter H|PH|', 'Lennon|Lucy T|LT|', 'Visser|Marjolein|M|', 'Kapila|Yvonne L|YL|', 'Weyant|Robert J|RJ|', 'Ramsay|Sheena E|SE|']
D000368:Aged D000369:Aged, 80 and over D000375:Aging D015415:Biomarkers D002097:C-Reactive Protein D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases D015331:Cohort Studies D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D005260:Female D006487:Hemostasis D006801:Humans D007249:Inflammation D018836:Inflammation Mediators D015850:Interleukin-6 D008297:Male D009909:Oral Health D011446:Prospective Studies D012307:Risk Factors D016388:Tooth Loss D006113:United Kingdom D014481:United States
C-reactive protein Fibrin D-dimer Troponin T Tooth loss Cardiovascular disease