In Obese Teens, Are Blood Pressure & Periodontal Disease Linked?

Abstract

Research Article| September 01 2015 In Obese Teens, Are Blood Pressure & Periodontal Disease Linked? AAP Grand Rounds (2015) 34 (3): 33. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.34-3-33 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation In Obese Teens, Are Blood Pressure & Periodontal Disease Linked?. AAP Grand Rounds September 2015; 34 (3): 33. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.34-3-33 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All PublicationsAll JournalsAAP Grand RoundsPediatricsHospital PediatricsPediatrics In ReviewNeoReviewsAAP NewsAll AAP Sites Search Advanced Search Topics: obesity, periodontal diseases, blood pressure Source: Zeigler CC, Wondimu B, Marcus C, et al. Pathological periodontal pockets are associated with raised diastolic blood pressure in obese adolescents. BMC Oral Health. 2015; 15(1): 41; doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-015-0026-6Google Scholar Investigators from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden conducted a cross-sectional study of obese adolescents to assess the association between periodontal disease and blood pressure. Participants were recruited from the National Childhood Obesity Center at Karolinska University Hospital, and were eligible if they were 12–18 years of age, not a smoker, had not taken systemic antibiotics in the past 3 months, and were not undergoing orthodontic treatment. The primary independent variable of interest was periodontal disease. This was determined by the presence of pathological periodontal pockets (PD) ≥4mm on dental examination indicating the presence of an abnormal depth of the gingival sulcus where the gingival tissue contacts the tooth. The primary outcome was diastolic blood pressure (DBP), measured manually in the sitting position and expressed as the mean of 2 separate readings. Additional variables collected included body mass index (BMI), gender, age, medications, dietary habits, parents’ education, and mother’s country of birth. Gingival inflammation was also measured by dental examination based on bleeding on probing (BOP). Lastly, fasting blood samples were obtained to measure factors known to be associated with periodontal disease, obesity, or blood pressure, including total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), c-reactive protein (CRP), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin (IL)-1b, 6 and 8, and leptin. Among the 75 participants enrolled, 14 had PDs ≥4 mm. The DBP among participants with PDs ≥4 mm was 7 points higher than the DBP among participants without pathologic PDs (74 mmHg vs 67 mmHg, respectively; P = .008). After adjusting for BMI, age, gender, mother’s country of birth, BOP, IL-6, IL-8, leptin, MCP-1, TSH, and total cholesterol, PDs ≥4 mm remained significantly associated with DBP (P = .006). The investigators conclude that there is an association between periodontal disease and DBP among obese adolescents. Dr Slayton has disclosed no financial relationship relevant to this commentary. This commentary does not contain a discussion of an unapproved/investigative use of a commercial product/device. Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory disease that involves interaction between pathogenic bacteria and the host’s immune system resulting in gingivitis and alveolar bone loss.1 Loss of alveolar bone leads to partial or complete loss of teeth. Obesity is a common, chronic condition that has been linked to periodontal disease in recent studies.2,3 In a 20-year Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Longitudinal Study, it was found that rapid weight gain, waist circumference and increases in arm fat were associated with more periodontitis and periodontitis progression in men.2 The results of a second longitudinal study of men indicated that there was a greater risk for periodontal disease associated with waist circumference and waist to hip measurements and that participants with a BMI ≥30 kg/m2 were at significantly greater risk for... You do not currently have access to this content.