AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERIODONTAL-DISEASE AND PERIPHERAL VASCULAR-DISEASE

BACKGROUND: Periodontal disease has been shown to be associated with i ncreased risk of coronary heart disease. Because coronary heart diseas e and peripheral vascular disease (PVD) have similar pathophysiologies , we hypothesized that periodontal disease might be a risk factor for PVD. METHODS: Using the combined data from the Normative Aging Study a nd Dental Longitudinal Study of the US Department of Veterans Affairs, we examined the relationship between PVD and periodontal disease. Mul tivariate logistic regression analysis was used. RESULTS: Over the 25 to 30 years of follow-up, 80 of these initially healthy subjects devel oped PVD. Compared with controls (n = 1,030), subjects with clinically significant periodontal disease at baseline had a 2.27 increment in t he risk of developing PVD (95% confidence interval 1.32 to 3.9, P valu e = 0.003).CONCLUSIONS: Periodontal disease emerged as a significant i ndependent risk factor for PVD in a multivariate analysis that adjuste d for other established risk factors. Am J Surg. 1998;176:153-151. (C) 1998 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.