Periodontitis is a Risk Factor for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Study

Written By : Dr. Shravani Dali |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-02-18T09:00:56+05:30 | Updated On 18 Feb 2022 3:28 PM IST

Periodontitis is associated with an increased risk of developing Rheumatoid Arthritis, according to a study published in the International Dental Journal.

Periodontitis is an inflammatory disease that destroys hard and soft tissues surrounding the teeth and is associated with bacterial colonies and biofilms.

The intent was to analyse the association of periodontitis with the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a representative population-based cohort and longitudinal matched-cohort design.

Participants were 40 years of age or older and had not been diagnosed with RA between 2002 and 2006. Among the participants, those who were newly diagnosed with periodontitis between 2004 and 2006 (excluding cases that had already been diagnosed with periodontitis between 2002 and 2003) were allotted to the periodontitis group. Among the participants, those who had never been diagnosed with periodontitis between 2002 and 2006 formed the control group, matched by sex, age, and household income at a 1:1 ratio. From 2007 to 2018, the 2 groups (n = 691,506) were followed to monitor the development of RA. The t-test and χ2 test compared the general characteristics and health-related variables of both groups. The Kaplan-Meier method with a log-rank test was conducted to compare the incidence of RA in both groups. The hazard ratio (HR) and adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) were calculated using a Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to evaluate the risk of subsequent RA.

Results of the study are:

Univariate analysis revealed that the periodontitis group was more likely to develop RA than the control group (hazard ratio 1.10), and multivariate analysis also revealed a higher incidence risk of RA (adjusted hazard ratio 1.09) in the periodontitis group.

Thus, the researchers concluded that their findings demonstrate that periodontitis is associated with an increased risk of developing RA.

Reference:

Periodontitis as a Risk Factor for Rheumatoid Arthritis: a Matched-Cohort Study by Yoon Young Choi et al. published in the International Dental Journal.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002065392100006X

periodontitisrisk factorsrheumatoid arthritisInternational Dental Journal

Source : International Dental Journal

Dr. Shravani Dali

Dr. Shravani Dali has completed her BDS from Pravara institute of medical sciences, loni. Following which she extensively worked in the healthcare sector for 2+ years. She has been actively involved in writing blogs in field of health and wellness. Currently she is pursuing her Masters of public health-health administration from Tata institute of social sciences. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751