Poor Oral Health Is Associated With Inflammation, Aortic Valve Calcification, and Brain Volume Among Forager-Farmers.
Benjamin C TrumbleMatthew SchwartzAndrew T OzgaGary T SchwartzChristopher M StojanowskiCarrie L JenkinsThomas S KraftAngela R GarciaDaniel K CummingsPaul L HooperDaniel Eid RodriguezKenneth BuetowBret BeheimAndrei IrimiaGregory S ThomasRandall C ThompsonMargaret GatzJonathan StieglitzCaleb E FinchMichael D GurvenHillard Kaplannull nullPublished in: The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences (2024)
Poor oral health is associated with cardiovascular disease and dementia. Potential pathways include sepsis from oral bacteria, systemic inflammation, and nutritional deficiencies. However, in post-industrialized populations, links between oral health and chronic disease may be confounded because the lower socioeconomic exposome (poor diet, pollution, and low physical activity) often entails insufficient dental care. We assessed tooth loss, caries, and damaged teeth, in relation to cardiovascular and brain aging among the Tsimane, a subsistence population living a relatively traditional forager-horticulturalist lifestyle with poor dental health, but minimal cardiovascular disease and dementia. Dental health was assessed by a physician in 739 participants aged 40-92 years with cardiac and brain health measured by chest computed tomography (CT; n = 728) and brain CT (n = 605). A subset of 356 individuals aged 60+ were also assessed for dementia and mild cognitive impairment (n = 33 impaired). Tooth loss was highly prevalent, with 2.2 teeth lost per decade and a 2-fold greater loss in women. The number of teeth with exposed pulp was associated with higher inflammation, as measured by cytokine levels and white blood cell counts, and lower body mass index. Coronary artery calcium and thoracic aortic calcium were not associated with tooth loss or damaged teeth. However, aortic valve calcification and brain tissue loss were higher in those who had more teeth with exposed pulp. Overall, these results suggest that dental health is associated with indicators of chronic diseases in the absence of typical confounds, even in a population with low cardiovascular and dementia risk factors.
Keyphrases
- oral health
- mild cognitive impairment
- aortic valve
- cardiovascular disease
- healthcare
- physical activity
- computed tomography
- cognitive decline
- resting state
- white matter
- transcatheter aortic valve replacement
- public health
- body mass index
- aortic valve replacement
- coronary artery
- transcatheter aortic valve implantation
- aortic stenosis
- mental health
- functional connectivity
- health information
- risk factors
- oxidative stress
- cerebral ischemia
- cognitive impairment
- chronic kidney disease
- dual energy
- magnetic resonance imaging
- heavy metals
- left ventricular
- emergency department
- positron emission tomography
- intensive care unit
- health promotion
- spinal cord
- pulmonary artery
- palliative care
- metabolic syndrome
- contrast enhanced
- social media
- cone beam computed tomography
- weight loss
- spinal cord injury
- single cell
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- bone marrow
- stem cells
- pain management
- depressive symptoms