Study profile: oral health assessment among participants of “Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases in Russian regions. Third study” in the Arkhangelsk region

Abstract

RATIONALE AND AIMS: The population of North Russia has a high prevalence of both cardiovascular and dental diseases. The Arkhangelsk region was included in the third phase of the multicenter study entitled Epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases in Russian regions. Third study (ESSE-RF3). The ESSE-RF3 study studied the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, their biological and behavioral risk factors, and the associations with regional economic, climatic, and geographical characteristics. The Arkhangelsk part of the study is unique as it involved an assessment of the oral health of the ESSE-RF3 study participants. The oral health study protocol is presented in this paper.
 METHODS: A population-based study was performed from February 24 through June 30 in the year 2021 at the outpatient facility of the Northern State Medical University in Arkhangelsk. A representative sample of 1816 permanent residents of the Arkhangelsk region aged 3574 years participated in the ESSE-RF3 study. Most of them (84.987.5%) agreed to take part in the oral phase of the study, which included the use of a questionnaire, the collection of oral and gingival crevicular fluid, assessment of dental and periodontal health status using a WHO (2013) methodology; oral hygiene and dental aesthetic index; an orthodontic assessment with periotestometry and a photo protocol. In addition, an in-depth orthodontic study was performed on a sub-sample of the participants aged 3551 years (n=236) using teleroentgenography, cone-beam computed tomography, and biometrics of the plaster models.
 EXPECTED RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The study will assess the prevalence of a wide range of states and conditions related to oral health in a representative sample of the adult population of the Arkhangelsk region in the target age-group using validated international instruments to ensure comparability and reproducibility of the findings. More importantly, the study will assess the associations between various aspects of oral health and cardiovascular diseases, their risk factors as well as regional and behavioral characteristics studied by the main ESSE-RF3 study protocol.