Associations between periodontal disease severity and selected cardiometabolic risk factors.

Objectives: To explore associations between periodontal disease (PD) severity and cardiometabolic risk factors, including body mass index (BMI), age, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) risk, sex, and hypertension (HTN) in patients at an urban dental school clinic.

Methods and materials: A cross-sectional study design was used to analyze electronic health record data, including periodontal status, demographic characteristics, cardiometabolic risk factors and the American Diabetes Association Diabetes Risk Test (DRT) Score. Chi-square tests and ordinal logistic regression were conducted using SAS 9.4.

Results: Of those with available data (n=6,778), 44% were male, 70.2% were overweight/obese, and the mean age was 50.9 (SD=16.6) years. Associations between PD severity and BMI, sex, age, DRT score, and HTN were statistically significant (all p<0.0001) in bivariate analyses. Using logistic regression, HTN (p=0.0006), sex (p<0.0001), and age (p<0.0001) were significant predictors of severe PD which was most common in those with HTN (35.9%), males (31.7%), those >60 years (36.6%). The odds of having severe PD for those with HTN were 1.2 times that of those without HTN. Males were 1.7 times more likely to have severe PD than females. Those aged 40-49 years, 50-59 years, and >60 years were 2.9, 4.2, and 4.3 times more likely to have severe PD than those who were 18-39 years, respectively.

Conclusion: All cardiometabolic risk factors were associated with PD severity in bivariate analyses. In the logistic regression model, being older, male, and having HTN were significant predictors of PD severity. Future research is needed with a more diverse sample.