Prospective Associations Between Measures of Adiposity and Periodontal Disease

Obesity induced inflammation may promote periodontal tissue destruction and bone resorption inducing tooth loss. We examined the association between measures of adiposity and self‐reported periodontal disease, using data from 36,910 healthy male participants of the Health Professionals Follow‐Up Study (HPFS) who were free of periodontal disease at baseline and followed for ≤20 years (1986–2006). Self‐reported height, weight, and periodontal disease data were collected at baseline, weight and periodontal disease were additionally collected on biennial follow‐up questionnaires and waist and hip circumference were self‐reported in 1987. These self‐reported measures have been previously validated. The multivariable adjusted associations between BMI (kg/m 2 ), waist circumference (WC), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR), and first report of periodontal disease diagnosis were evaluated using time‐varying Cox models. We observed 2,979 new periodontal disease diagnoses during 596,561 person‐years of follow‐up. Significant associations and trends were observed between all measures of adiposity and periodontal disease after adjusting for age, smoking, race, dental profession, physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake, alcohol consumption, and diabetes status at baseline. BMI ≥30 kg/m 2 compared to BMI 18.5–24.9 kg/m 2 was significantly associated with greater risk of periodontal disease (hazard ratios (HR) = 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17–1.45). Elevated WC and WHR were significantly associated with a greater risk of periodontal disease (HR for extreme quintiles: WC = 1.27, 95% CI: 1.11–1.46; WHR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.17–1.54). The associations of BMI and WC were significant even among nondiabetics and never smokers. Given the high prevalence of overweight, obesity, and periodontal disease this association may be of substantial public health importance.