Abstract
Physical activity reduces the risk and mortality risk of inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to examine the relationship between regular walking and periodontitis in a Korean representative sample of adults according to socioeconomic status. Data acquired by the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2014 and 2015 were used. The survey was completed by 11,921 (5,175 males; 6,746 females) participants (≥19 years). Individuals without values on periodontitis were excluded, and 9,728 participants remained. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was done using socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, income, education), oral health-related variables (flossing, interdental brushing, community periodontal index), oral and general health status and behaviour (smoking, diabetes mellitus), and regular walking. In all models, subjects who walked regularly had significantly lower risks of periodontitis. After adjusting for age, gender, income, education, smoking, diabetes mellitus, flossing, and interdental brushing, the odds ratio for periodontitis in subjects who walked regularly was 0.793 (95% Confidence interval: 0.700–0.898). Non-regular walking groups showed similar social gradients. Risk of low socioeconomic status was not significant in the regular walking group after adjusting for age, gender, income, and education. This study found that regular walking is associated to lower prevalence of periodontitis and can attenuate the relationship between periodontitis and low socioeconomic status.
Highlights
Periodontitis is an inflammatory chronic disease that leads to the destruction of connective tissue and supporting bone[1,2]
From all the data collected by the KNHANES VI, we used the data on socio-demographic characteristics, oral health-related variables, oral and general health status and behaviour, and regular walking
Our study showed a significant association between regular walking and lower prevalence of periodontitis
Summary
Periodontitis is an inflammatory chronic disease that leads to the destruction of connective tissue and supporting bone[1,2]. Studies have shown that regular physical activity reduces the risk and mortality risk of many systemic diseases including cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, colon cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity, arthritis, and hypertension[8,9,10,11]. Meta-analyses have reported that walking improves the glycaemic control as assessed by glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) in patients with type 2 diabetes and that aerobic physical activity decreases the blood pressure of subjects with hypertension[15,16]. There are no systematic large-scale epidemiological studies that have confirmed the effect of walking on www.nature.com/scientificreports/. There is a report showing that the association between periodontitis and other inflammation-related diseases differs according to the socioeconomic status of the patient[23]. It is necessary to study socioeconomic status as an effect modifier when studying the association between periodontitis and physical activity
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