A new study of 2,215 people ages 18 to 19 found that gum disease and early signs of cardiovascular disease develop together during adolescence, suggesting that teenagers with periodontal problems may have increased risk for future heart disease.
- Gum disease and vascular dysfunction are linked in adolescents ages 18-21, according to research published in Oral Diseases.
- Obesity showed the strongest connection to vascular risk phenotype followed by its association with periodontitis in young adults.
- Higher socioeconomic status was associated with a lower risk of both gum disease and vascular dysfunction in adolescents.
- Adolescence may represent a critical window for integrated preventive strategies targeting both oral and cardiovascular health simultaneously.
Periodontal tissue disruption and causes of vascular dysfunction, like high blood pressure, may co-occur in late adolescence, possibly representing early manifestations of cardiovascular risk. This new study was published on September 21 in Oral Diseases.
The findings suggest that this oral-systemic risk is affected by shared socioeconomic and metabolic determinants, the authors wrote.
“Although these cross-sectional findings do not establish temporality or intervention effects, adolescence may represent an important window for integrated preventive strategies based on a common risk factor approach,” wrote the authors, led by Cecilia Claudia Costa Ribeiro of Federal University of Maranhão in São Luís, Brazil.
Despite burgeoning interest in cardiovascular risk during early life, studies related to the co-occurrence of gum disease and subclinical vascular changes, such as higher blood pressure, remain limited in adolescence.
To explore a possible correlation, a population-based study of 2,215 people ages 18 to 19 was conducted. Gum disease was identified as bleeding on probing, a probing depth greater than or equal to 4 mm, and a clinical attachment loss greater than or equal to 3 mm. Vascular risk phenotype, a measurable health profile based on blood pressure and pulse wave velocity, was used to indicate a person’s vulnerability to cardiovascular disease. Factors, including obesity and socioeconomic status, were adjusted in structural equation models, according to the study.
Gum disease and vascular risk phenotype were linked (standardized coefficient [SC]: 0.1; p = 0.004), the authors wrote.
In adolescents with higher socioeconomic status, there was a negative association for periodontitis (SC: -0.112; p < 0.001) and vascular risk phenotype (SC: -0.061; p = 0.04). However, the strongest link appeared to be between obesity and the vascular risk phenotype (SC: 0.393; p < 0.001) followed by its association with periodontitis (SC: 0.114; p < 0.001), they wrote.
The findings suggest that budding vascular abnormalities and periodontal changes develop in parallel during adolescence. Vascular changes may contribute to the damage of periodontal tissue damage. Therefore, it is possible that vascular changes may be concurrently linked to periodontal and cardiovascular impairments, even without a direct causal relationship, the authors wrote.
However, the study had limitations, including the simultaneous measurement of periodontal and vascular indicators. This prevents causal inference or temporal ordering, they wrote.
“Periodontal and vascular breakdown occur simultaneously in adolescence as manifestations of early vascular dysfunction,” Ribeiro and colleagues wrote.
