Association between periodontal status and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in a Korean adult population: A nationwide cross-sectional study.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between periodontal status and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) indicators in a representative Korean population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 4061 participants>19 years of age using the 2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. Periodontal status was assessed by trained dentists using the community periodontal index. To identify the presence of NAFLD, biochemical data were defined using two validated indicators: the fatty liver index (FLI) and the hepatic steatosis index (HSI). The associations of the presence of periodontal pockets with FLI and HSI were evaluated by multivariable logistic regression analysis after adjusting for age, income, education level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. The adjusted means in the FLI indicator increased in the presence of periodontal pockets, whereas there was no significant difference in the HSI (P=0.005 for FLI; P =0.142 for HSI). Periodontal pockets were consistently associated with the two NAFLD indicators in the sequential logistic models for women throughout the adjustment process. (OR=1.77, 95% CI=1.05 to 2.98 for FLI, OR=1.64, 95% CI=1.08 to 2.51 for HSI). Our findings showed that the presence of periodontal pockets may be independently associated with NAFLD indicators. Further study will be clarified by well-designed longitudinal studies.