Systemic disease burden among patients aged 40 years and over attending a UK dental hospital: a cross-sectional linked electronic health record study

Aims To describe the systemic disease burden for patients attending Leeds dental hospital. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients aged ≥40 years between 2014–2023 with dental records linked to electronic health records (EHR). Systemic diseases were identified through International Classifications of Disease – 10th edition codes in secondary care EHR and self-reported comorbidities captured in dental EHR. The prevalence ratio of systemic disease was modelled using Poisson regression, adjusting for age, sex, index of deprivation, and medical history. Multiple long-term conditions (MLTC) were defined by counts of concommitant conditions with ≥2 systemic diseases. Results In total, 32,675 patients (55% women) were included with ≥1/3 from the most deprived areas (n = 12,141, 37.2%). One-fifth of Leeds dental hospital patients had at least one systemic disease (n = 6,437, 19.7%), and the highest prevalences were in periodontal/restorative (n = 3,179, 50.9%) and acute dental care clinics (n = 1,423, 36.4%). Patients in periodontal/restorative clinics were over three times more likely to have systemic disease than those in maxillofacial surgery clinics. One-quarter of patients with MLTC involving cardiovascular or musculoskeletal conditions had three or more other systemic diagnoses (n = 787, 25.1%; n = 750, 24.2%). Conclusions The systemic disease burden among patients attending Leeds dental hospital was substantial and varied by clinics. These findings underline the need for integrated information systems and care planning for medically complex dental patients.