Relationship between periodontal disease and asthma among overweight/obese adults

To assess the relationship between oral health and asthma.

Data from 1315 overweight or obese individuals, aged 40-65 years were used. Asthma was self-reported, whereas periodontitis, bleeding on probing (BOP) and plaque index were determined by clinical examinations.

Using logistic regression adjusting for gender, smoking status, age, body mass index, family history of asthma and income level, revealed that the odds ratio (OR) of asthma for a participant with severe periodontitis was 0.44 (95% confidence interval: 0.27, 0.70) that of a participant with none/mild periodontitis. On the other hand, proportion of BOP sites and plaque index were not statistically significant. For a participant with severe periodontitis, the OR of taking asthma medication was 0.20 (95% confidence interval: 0.09, 0.43) that of a participant with none/mild periodontitis. Moreover, proportion of BOP sites was statistically associated with use of asthma medication, whereas plaque index still remained non-significant.

Participants with severe periodontitis were less likely to have asthma. Stronger evidence of an inverse association was found when using asthma medication as outcome.