Abstract

BACKGROUND: We examined the association of objective and subjective oral health markers with inflammatory, haemostatic and cardiac biomarkers in older age. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses were based on the British Regional Heart Study (BRHS) comprising British men aged 71-92 years (n=2147), and the Health, Aging and Body Composition (HABC) Study comprising American men and women aged 71-80 years (n=3075). Oral health markers included periodontal disease, tooth count, dry mouth. Inflammatory biomarkers included C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) in both studies, and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), von Willebrand Factor (vWF), fibrin D-dimer, high sensitivity Troponin T (hsTnT) and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) only in the BRHS. RESULTS: In both studies, tooth loss, was associated with the top tertile of CRP - odds ratios (95%CI) are 1.31 (1.02-1.68) in BRHS; and 1.40 (1.13-1.75) in the HABC Study, after adjusting for confounders. In the HABC Study, cumulative (≥3) oral health problems were associated with higher levels of CRP (OR (95%CI) =1.42 (1.01-1.99)). In the BRHS, complete and partial tooth loss were associated with haemostatic factors, in particular with the top tertile of fibrin D-dimer (OR (95%CI) = 1.64 (1.16-2.30) and 1.37 (1.05-1.77) respectively). Tooth loss and periodontal disease were associated with increased levels of hsTnT. CONCLUSIONS: Poor oral health in older age, particularly tooth loss, was consistently associated with some inflammatory, haemostatic and cardiac biomarkers. Prospective studies and intervention trials could help understand better if poor oral health is causally linked to inflammatory, haemostatic and cardiac biomarkers.