Association Between Adiposity Measures and Periodontal Disease Among Hispanics

Objective: Obesity has been implicated as a risk factor for periodontal disease. This study assessed the association between adiposity measures and periodontal disease. 

Method: Three hundred and six overweight and obese participants aged 40 to 65 and free of major cardiovascular disease and diabetes were recruited from the San Juan metropolitan area. Study participants underwent anthropometric measurements (body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio), periodontal examination, face-to-face interview and blood drawing. Participants were recruited for a longitudinal study to assess the association between periodontal disease and insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. We evaluated the association between adiposity and different measures of periodontal disease. We conducted logistic and linear regression analyses controlling for age, gender, education, income, smoking, alcohol consumption and number of teeth.

Results: In the age-adjusted models, waist circumference was significantly associated to periodontal disease, defined as ≥1 site with clinical attachment loss ≥4 mm (OR=1.82, 95% CI: 1.04-3.20). Similarly, waist-to-hip ratio was significantly associated to periodontal disease, defined as ≥1 site with pocket depth ≥4 mm (OR=1.75, 95% CI: 1.03-2.96) and as ≥1 site with clinical attachment loss ≥4 mm (OR=1.88, 95% CI: 1.03-3.43). However, these associations were no longer significant in the multivariable logistic model. Associations between adiposity indices with other measures of periodontal disease (mean clinical attachment loss, mean probing pocket depth, percent of sites with pockets ≥3 mm and percent of sites with attachment loss ≥3 mm) were not significant.

Conclusion: In this cross-sectional analysis of overweight and obese adults, prevalence of periodontal disease was not associated with overall and abdominal obesity.