Periodontitis and gastrointestinal cancer: a nationwide cohort study of NHANES 2009-2014

The association between periodontitis and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) cancer has undergone extensive investigation. However, there is ongoing controversy regarding the impact of periodontitis on the incidence and mortality rates among GIT cancer patients. This study aims to clarify the relationship between periodontitis and the risk as well as mortality rates of GIT cancer.

The data utilized in this study were obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database for the years 2009-2014, which included a total of 10,706 participants from the United States. The incidence and mortality rates of GIT cancer were analyzed in relation to periodontitis. To ensure the reliability of the results, additional adjustments for covariates and stratification analyses were conducted.

In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, various variables such as age, sex, race, BMI, income, education, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus were adjusted for. The analysis revealed no positive association between periodontitis and an increased risk of total cancer or GIT cancer including colorectal cancer. However, periodontitis was found to be significantly associated with higher mortality rates among participants for all-cause (HR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.26-2.00; P < 0.001), GIT cancer (HR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.24-2.20; P < 0.001), and colorectal cancer (HR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.24-2.19; P < 0.001) individually.

The study demonstrates that periodontitis is not associated with an increased risk of incidence for total cancer, or GIT cancer including colorectal cancer. However, it is significantly associated with a higher risk of mortality for all-cause, GIT cancer, and colorectal cancer among participants in the NHANES study.