PS-P06-10: ASSOCIATIONS OF TONGUE CLEANING AND MORNING TOOTH BRUSHING HABITS WITH BLOOD PRESSURE AND DIABETES AMONG JAPANESE MEN AND WOMEN

Abstract

Objective: Recently, a bidirectional relationship between periodontal and systematic diseases has been reported. Because periodontal disease is caused by periodontopathogenic bacteria found in dental plaque and bacteria increase during sleep, it is important to clean the mouth, especially in the morning. Although the importance of tooth brushing has been reported in many studies,none has investigated both tongue cleaning habit and timing of tooth brushing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the association of tongue cleaning and morning tooth brushing habits with blood pressure (BP) and diabetes in a cross-sectional study. Design and method: 1005 residents (656 in 2020, 349 in 2021, 430 men and 575 women) in Ikawa-machi, Akita Prefecture, aged 40–91 years (mean 65.3) who underwent health-checkup in 2020–2021 and answered both whether they had a tongue cleaning habit and their timing of tooth brushing, were surveyed. If participants answered in both years, the 2020 data was used. Participants who answered brushing their teeth at least once after waking up or after breakfast were defined as having a morning tooth brushing habit. Participants who answered “under treatment’’ or had an HbA1c of ≧ 6.0% in the health-checkup were defined as having diabetes, and those who had a systolic BP of ≧ 140 mmHg or a diastolic BP of ≧ 90 mmHg were defined as having poor BP control. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios (95% confidence interval (CI)) for the prevalence of poor BP control or diabetes in those who did not, based on those who had both tongue cleaning and morning tooth brushing habits. Covariates were sex, age, lifestyle habits (drinking, smoking, exercise), and taking antihypertensive medication. Results: The proportion of participants with both tongue cleaning and morning tooth brushing, with tongue cleaning, or with morning tooth brushing were 37.0%, 39.0%, and 92.2%, respectively. Those who did not have both tongue cleaning and morning tooth brushing were more likely to have poor BP control and diabetes than those who did, with odds ratios (95% CI) of 1.76 (1.14–2.72) and 1.33 (1.00–1.77), respectively. The association with poor BP control was particularly pronounced among those aged ≧ 65 years, with an odds ratio (95% CI) of 1.77 (1.04–3.03). Conclusions: Unable to have both tongue cleaning and morning tooth brushing habits may be associated with prevalent risk of hypertension and diabetes. Future longitudinal studies will be conducted to demonstrate a causal relationship.