Number of teeth and selected cardiovascular risk factors among elderly people

To produce evidence on an association between the number of teeth and selected cardiovascular risk factors among an elderly population.

The study population comprised of 523 community-living elderly people who participated in the population-based Kuopio 75+ study. The data for each subject were collected using a structured clinical health examination, an interview and laboratory tests. Linear regression models were used to estimate adjusted mean values and confidence limits.

Edentulous persons and persons with a small number of teeth had lower serum HDL cholesterol and higher triglyceride, leucocyte and blood glucose levels and a higher body mass index (BMI) compared with subjects to a large number of teeth.

The study showed that, in the Finnish home-dwelling population aged 75 years or older, those with a large number of teeth were less likely to have cardiovascular risk factors such as a low serum HDL cholesterol level, a high triglyceride level and a high BMI than did subjects with a small number of teeth or who were edentulous.