The Association Between Periodontal Disease and C-Reactive Protein In Patients With a History Of Heart Attack

• Main Author: Fletcher, Robert Lee, III
• Format: Others
• Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2004
• Subjects: CRP; Periodontal Disease; Heart Attack; Dentistry; Medicine and Health Sciences; Periodontics and Periodontology
• Online Access: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/1528; http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2527&context=etd

The patient population consisted of a maximum of 18,570 subjects who completed the NHANES III questionnaire and examination from 1988 - 1994. The physical examination included such things as body mass index and serum samples, social and medical history. The periodontal examination recorded probing depth, attachment loss and gingival bleeding. Serum samples were analyzed for CRP levels, cholesterol levels etc. Demographic, cardiovascular and oral health variables were compared in subjects with a history of heart attack. Result showed that history of heart attack is associated with increased odds ratio for elevated CRP, diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, male gender, non-white race and smoking. Of the periodontal indicators of disease, only gingival bleeding had an increased odds ratio for association with heart attack history. The unadjusted odds ratio was 1.25 with 95% CI[0.84-1.87]. The adjusted odds ratio increase to 1.93 with 95% CI [1.02-3.71]. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating that elevated CRP is associated with increased risk of heart attack. The interesting finding of this study is that only gingival bleeding, not probing depth or attachment loss, had an increased odds ratio for an associated with self-reported history of heart attack.