Relationship of Metabolic Syndrome to Periodontal Disease in Japanese Women: The Hisayama Study

Recent studies have suggested that several systemic conditions--such as obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes--are related to periodontitis. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between periodontitis and 5 components of metabolic syndrome--abdominal obesity, triglyceride level, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, blood pressure, and fasting blood sugar level--in 584 Japanese women. In multivariate analyses, persons exhibiting more components of metabolic syndrome had significantly higher odds ratios for a greater pocket depth and clinical attachment loss than did those with no components; the odds ratios for a greater pocket depth and clinical attachment loss of the persons exhibiting 4 or 5 components were 6.6 (95% confidence interval = 2.6-16.4) and 4.2 (95% confidence interval = 1.2-14.8), respectively. These results indicate that metabolic syndrome increases risk of periodontitis, and suggest that people exhibiting several components of metabolic syndrome should be encouraged to undergo a periodontal examination.