Association of Radiographically Diagnosed Apical Periodontitis and Cardiovascular Disease: A Hospital Records-based...

Area of Science:

• Oral Health Research
• Cardiovascular Health
• Systemic Disease Associations

Background:

• Growing evidence links oral health to systemic diseases.
• Research specifically on apical periodontitis (AP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains limited.
• This study aims to explore the potential association between AP and CVD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between apical periodontitis (AP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• To determine if individuals with AP are more prone to developing CVD.
• To contribute to the understanding of oral-systemic health connections.

Main Methods:

• A pair-matched, cross-sectional study design.
• Involved reviewing medical and dental charts of 182 subjects with AP and 182 without AP, matched for age and gender.
• Utilized International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification for diagnoses and electronic records for comprehensive data collection.

Main Results:

• Bivariate analysis revealed significant associations between AP and CVD, hypercholesterolemia, race, missing teeth, caries experience, and root canal treatments.
• Adjusted conditional logistic regression demonstrated a statistically significant positive association between AP and CVD (OR, 5.3; 95% CI, 1.5-18.4).

Conclusions:

• Subjects with apical periodontitis (AP) were found to be 5.3 times more likely to have cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• The findings suggest a notable link between AP and an increased prevalence of CVD.
• Further research is recommended to establish temporality and strengthen the evidence for the association between CVD and AP.