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Updated: Oct 10, 2025
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
High serum iron markers are associated with periodontitis in post-menopausal women: A population-based study (NHANES
Susilena Arouche Costa1, Cecilia Claudia Costa Ribeiro2, Ana Regina Oliveira Moreira3
1Graduate Dentistry Program, Federal University of Maranhão, São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil.
Aim:
To investigate the association between increased serum markers of iron (ferritin and transferrin saturation) and the severity and extent of periodontitis in post-menopausal (PM) women.
Materials And Methods:
Data from 982 PM women participating in NHANES III were analysed. Exposures were high ferritin (≥300 μg/ml) and transferrin saturation (≥45%). The primary outcome was moderate/severe periodontitis defined according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Periodontology. The extent of periodontitis was also assessed as outcome: proportion of sites affected by clinical attachment loss ≥4 mm and probing depth ≥4 mm. Crude and adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) and mean ratio (MR) were estimated using Poisson regression.
Results:
The prevalence of moderate/severe periodontitis was 27.56%. High ferritin was associated with moderate/severe periodontitis in the crude (PR 1.55, p = .018) and in the final adjusted model (PR 1.53, p = .008). High ferritin and transferrin saturation levels were associated with a higher proportion of sites with clinical attachment loss ≥4 mm (p < .05).
Conclusions:
The increasing serum iron markers seem to contribute to periodontitis severity and extent in PM women.
