Current Periodontitis severity linked to cardiorespiratory fitness: Study

Mean pocket probing depth (PPD) reflecting current disease severity was consistently linked to cardiorespiratory fitness in 2 cross-sectional samples of the general population, finds a recent study.

The research was published in the Journal of Dental Research.

B. Holtfreter and colleagues from the Department of Restorative Dentistry, Periodontology, Endodontology, and Preventive and Pediatric Dentistry, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany investigated the association between clinically assessed periodontitis and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET).

The authors assembled data from 2 independent cross-sectional population-based studies (5-y follow-up of the Study of Health in Pomerania [SHIP-1; N = 1,639] and SHIP-Trend-0 [N = 2,439]).

The study participants received a half-mouth periodontal examination, and teeth were counted. CPET was based on symptom limited-exercise tests on a bicycle ergometer.

Associations of periodontitis parameters with CPET parameters were analyzed by confounder-adjusted multivariable linear regression.

The results of the research revealed that from the total sample, mean pocket probing depth (PPD), mean clinical attachment levels, and number of teeth were consistently associated with peak oxygen uptake (peakVO2) and exercise duration in both studies, even after restriction to cardiorespiratory healthy participants.

Statistically significant associations with oxygen uptake at anaerobic threshold (VO2@AT), slope of the efficiency of ventilation in removing carbon dioxide, and peak oxygen pulse (VÉ/VCO2 slope) occurred.

Further, interactions with age were identified, such that mainly older individuals with higher levels of periodontal disease severity were associated with lower peakVO2. Restricted to never smokers, associations with mean clinical attachment levels and the number of teeth mostly diminished, while associations of mean PPD with peakVO2, VO2@AT, VÉ/VCO2 slope, and exercise duration in SHIP-1 and SHIP-Trend-0 were confirmed.

Also, in SHIP-1, mean peakVO2 was 1,895 mL/min in participants with a mean PPD of 1.6 mm and 1,809 mL/min in participants with a mean PPD of 3.7 mm.

This led the authors to conclude that "mean PPD reflecting current disease severity was consistently linked to cardiorespiratory fitness in 2 cross-sectional samples of the general population. If confirmed in well-designed large-scale longitudinal studies, the association between periodontitis and cardiorespiratory fitness might provide a biologically plausible mechanism linking periodontitis with cardiometabolic diseases."