Association between serum calcium and periodontal disease progression in non-institutionalized elderly

To assess the effect of baseline serum calcium on the progression of periodontal disease in non-institutionalized elderly.

Although a few studies have found some evidence of the role played by dietary calcium in periodontal disease process, there is a paucity of information pertinent to longitudinal assessment of serum calcium-periodontal relationships.

Clinical attachment levels of 266 Japanese subjects aged 70 years were recorded at baseline and annually for six consecutive years. Progression of periodontal disease (PPD) was defined as the number of teeth that showed additional attachment loss of > or =3 mm during the 6 years. The number of PPD was calculated for each subject and categorised into four levels, namely, PPD(0), PPD(1), PPD(2) and PPD(3) where the number of teeth with additional attachment loss ranged from 0, 1-10, 11-20 and >20 respectively. The levels of serum calcium, albumin, random blood sugar, immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA and IgM), gender, smoking habits, education, gingival bleeding and the number of teeth present were obtained at baseline.

Serum calcium, IgA, smoking, gingival bleeding and teeth present were associated with PPD at p < or = 0.10 and were included in a multinomial logistic regression analysis. Serum calcium was the only variable that was significantly associated with PPD with relative risks of 100 at PPD(1) and PPD(2), respectively, and 1000 at PPD(3).

Serum calcium may be considered a risk factor for periodontal disease progression in non-institutionalized elderly.