Key result
Oral disease linked to ~3-fold higher risk of systemic diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Why the study?
Do oral pathogens increase the risk of systemic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's, and diabetes?
Do oral pathogens increase the risk of systemic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's, and diabetes?
Oral diseases such as periodontitis are associated with a 3.3-fold increased risk of developing systemic diseases, highlighting the importance of dental health in overall public health.
This review synthesizes the findings from 252 studies to explore the relationship between the oral pathogens associated with periodontitis, dental caries, and systemic diseases. Individuals with oral diseases, such as periodontitis, are between 1.7 and 7.5 times (average 3.3 times) more likely to develop systemic diseases or suffer adverse pregnancy outcomes, underscoring the critical connection between dental and overall health. Oral conditions such as periodontitis and dental caries represent a significant health burden, affecting 26–47% of Americans. The most important oral pathogens, ranked by publication frequency, include the herpes virus, C. albicans, S. mutans, P. gingivalis, F. nucleatum, A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. intermedia, T. denticola, and T. forsythia. The systemic diseases and disorders linked to oral infections, ranked similarly, include cancer, respiratory, liver, bowel, fever, kidney, complications in pregnancy, cardiovascular bacteremia, diabetes, arthritis, autoimmune, bladder, dementia, lupus, and Alzheimer’s diseases. Evidence supports the efficacy of dental and periodontal treatments in eliminating oral infections and reducing the severity of systemic diseases. The substantial burden that oral pathogens have on cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and other systemic diseases poses a significant public health crisis.
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Murray et al. (2024) conducted a review in Oral diseases and systemic diseases. Oral diseases and pathogens (e.g., periodontitis) was evaluated on Systemic diseases or adverse pregnancy outcomes (average 3.3 times more likely). Individuals with oral diseases such as periodontitis are on average 3.3 times (range 1.7-7.5) more likely to develop systemic diseases or suffer adverse pregnancy outcomes.
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