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 Thompsonnull nullMargaret GatzJonathan StieglitzCaleb E FinchMichael D GurvenHillard KaplanPublished 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, 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 that 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
- spinal cord
- oral health
- mild cognitive impairment
- aortic valve
- cardiovascular disease
- healthcare
- computed tomography
- physical activity
- resting state
- cognitive decline
- white matter
- transcatheter aortic valve replacement
- public health
- body mass index
- transcatheter aortic valve implantation
- aortic valve replacement
- mental health
- aortic stenosis
- coronary artery
- oxidative stress
- cognitive impairment
- functional connectivity
- human health
- risk factors
- chronic kidney disease
- image quality
- health information
- primary care
- magnetic resonance imaging
- dual energy
- cerebral ischemia
- type diabetes
- heavy metals
- metabolic syndrome
- intensive care unit
- single cell
- health promotion
- cone beam computed tomography
- stem cells
- weight loss
- pulmonary artery
- palliative care
- blood brain barrier
- multiple sclerosis
- heart failure
- pulmonary arterial hypertension
- cell therapy
- brain injury
- pain management
- weight gain
- acute kidney injury
- social media
- adipose tissue