Abstract
Oral pathogens have been identified in bioptic specimens from Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) patients, and alveolar bone loss has been related to ARMD. Therefore, the possible association between ARMD and periodontal disease was investigated in the present case-control study, evaluating clinical and radiographic periodontal parameters, primarily, in cases vs. controls and, secondarily, in relation to ARMD risk factors, in cases, to highlight a possible pathogenic link between the disorders. Forty ARMD cases and 40 non-ARMD controls, matched for age (±3 years) and gender and homogeneous for ARMD risk factors, therefore comparable, underwent full-mouth periodontal charting, panoramic radiograph, and medical data, including ARMD risk factors, collection. Statistical analysis was conducted using the language R. Comparisons between groups were made using both traditional t-tests and Yuen’s test with bootstrap calibration. Enrolled subjects were ≥55 years old, and 50 females and 30 males were equally distributed among the two groups. No statistically significant difference was found in clinical and radiographic periodontal parameters in cases vs. controls. In the case group, no differences were found when relating the periodontal parameters to ARMD risk factors, except for Clinical Attachment Level values that were statistically significantly higher in hypertensive ARMD subjects. A possible association between periodontal disease and ARMD may be hypothesized in hypertensive ARMD subjects, with hypertension as a possible pathogenic link between the disorders.
Highlights
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is a progressive degenerative visionthreatening ocular disease in the elderly
ARMDininhumans humanswas wasinvestiinvestigated in the present case-control study, comparing clinical and radiographic periodontal gated in the present case-control study, comparing clinical and radiographic periodontal parameters in cases vs. controls, and evaluating their relation with ARMD risks factors, in the, case group, to potentially highlight a possible pathogenic link between the disorders
Even though increasing evidences suggest a possible association between periodontitis and ARMD [10,43,44], ARMD has been previously related to alveolar bone loss, and periodontal pathogens have been identified in bioptic specimens from ARMD patients, in the present study, no significant differences were detected in clinical and radiographic periodontal parameters of cases vs. controls, supporting such an association
Summary
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is a progressive degenerative visionthreatening ocular disease in the elderly. It represents the late stage of a group of degenerative changes in the macula, the central region of the retina and the choroid, collectively called age-related maculopathy [1]. The pathogenesis is not yet completely understood, but the evidence that initial ARMD signs include retinal pigment epithelial changes, resembling Alzheimer disease and atherosclerosis [5], may suggest common etiopathogenic pathways and may be due to shared risk factors, such as age, low antioxidant levels [6], high Body Mass Index (BMI) [7,8], cigarette smoking [9], hypertension, and systemic inflammation [10]. Other established ARMD risk factors are gender, ethnicity, diabetes, abnormal plasma total cholesterol, High-Density Lipoproteins (HDL), and Low-Density
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