CIGARETTE-SMOKING INCREASES THE RISK FOR SUBGINGIVAL INFECTION WITH PERIODONTAL PATHOGENS

CIGARETTE SMOKING HAS BEEN FOUND to increase the risk for periodontiti s. The present study examined the association between cigarette smokin g and subgingival infection with periodontal pathogens to determine if smokers are more likely to be infected with certain periodontal patho gens than non-smokers. Self-reported data on 1,426 subjects, aged 25 t o 74, from the Erie County Study were obtained including data on 798 s ubjects who were current or former smokers. Mean clinical attachment l oss was used to estimate the severity of periodontal destruction. Subg ingival infection with target periodontal pathogens was determined by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Smokers harbored significantly higher levels and were at significantly greater risk of infection wit h Bacteroides forsythus than non-smokers. Adjusting for disease severi ty, the risk of subgingival infection with B. forsythus in current smo kers was 2.3 times that of former smokers or non-smokers. The relative risk of B. forsythus infection also increased 1.18 times for every ca tegory of smoking as the amount of smoking measured in packyears incre ased from very light to heavy. Adjusting for disease severity, Porphyr omonas gingivalis was also more likely to subgingivally infect smokers than non-smokers; however, there was not a significantly higher relat ive risk for infection with this bacterium. The data from this study i ndicate that cigarette smoking increases the likelihood of subgingival infection with certain periodontal pathogens. This may partly explain the increased risk for periodontitis seen in smokers.