The relationship between bone mineral density and periodontitis in postmenopausal women

Background: Systemic bone loss has been proposed as a risk factor for perio dontal disease; however, the relationship between these two diseases is sti ll not clear. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship be tween systemic bone mineral density and periodontal disease, controlling fo r known confounders. Methods: The study population included 70 postmenopausal Caucasian women ag ed 51 to 78 (mean +/- SD: 62.10 +/- 7.1 years). Skeletal bone mineral densi ty (BMD) was assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) at the neck , trochanter, intertrochanter, Ward's triangle, and total regions of the fe mur, and from the anterior-posterior view of the lumbar spine. Periodontal disease severity was represented by clinical attachment loss (CAL) and inte rproximal alveolar bone loss (ABL). Other measures of periodontal status in cluded probing depth (PD), supragingival plaque, gingival bleeding on probi ng, and calculus. DXA and oral examinations were performed by calibrated ex aminers. Partial correlation coefficients (r) were obtained from multiple l inear regression analysis adjusting for age, age at menopause, estrogen sup plementation, cigarette smoking, body mass index, and supragingival plaque. Results: Mean ABL was significantly correlated with BMD of the trochanter ( r = - 0.27), Ward's triangle (r = -0.26), and total regions of the femur (r = -0.25). Mean CAL appeared to be related to BMD consistently at all regio ns of the skeleton, although the association did not reach statistical sign ificance. Conclusions: We can conclude that skeletal BMD is related to interproximal alveolar bone loss and, to a lesser extent, to clinical attachment loss, im plicating postmenopausal osteopenia as a risk indicator for periodontal dis ease in postmenopausal Caucasian women.