The association of sedentary behaviour and physical activity with periodontal disease in NHANES 2011-2012

Periodontal disease is one of the most prevalent oral pathologies and a major chronic disease worldwide. Lifestyle habits such as poor nutrition and smoking have been established to contribute to the development of periodontal disease, but limited research has investigated whether physical activity and sedentary lifestyle play a role. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and periodontal disease.

We used a nationally representative data set from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2012. We examined the association between physical activity and sedentary behaviour and periodontal disease using multivariable logistic regression models and reported odds ratios (ORs).

Individuals with higher total physical activity, higher leisure time physical activity, and lower amount of total sedentary behaviour had lower periodontal disease prevalence. Adjusted multivariable regression models showed that higher sedentary behaviour (more than 7.5 h/day) was associated with higher odds of periodontal disease (OR = 1.17; 95% confidence interval = 1.00-1.36; p = .045).

The findings showed that higher sedentary behaviour is associated with higher odds of periodontal disease. Future prospective longitudinal studies and strategies are needed to investigate implications further and define the magnitude of the association between physical activity and periodontal disease.