Poor Oral Health Predicts Higher 10-Year Cardiovascular Risk: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Abstract

Background: Although the association between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been reported, whether periodontitis and poor oral health behavior influence CVD risk remains unclear. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether periodontal disease and poor oral health behavior predict 10-year general CVD risk using the Framingham Risk Score. Methods: Patients older than 30 years with no CVD history (n = 8370) were selected using cross-sectional study data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2013 and 2014. To reduce selection bias in this population-based study, propensity score matching analysis was used with SPSS and R programs to compare CVD risk. Results: Overall, 39.2% of the study population (n = 3277) had a global CVD risk of € 10% or greater. In the low- and at-risk groups, 20.7% and 45.3% of patients, respectively, were diagnosed with periodontal disease by a dentist. Moreover, 43.2% and 62.8% of the low- and at-risk group patients, respectively, brushed teeth less than 3 times a day. After 1:1 propensity score matching of the low-risk (n = 1135) and at-risk (n = 1135) groups, bivariate analyses showed that a diagnosis of periodontal disease and less frequent toothbrushing were associated with a higher CVD risk (P