Dental health link to cancer
Tuesday June 12th, 2012
Poor mouth hygiene may increase the risk of dying early from cancer, it has been claimed.
Persistent
dental plaque, which leads to tooth decay and gum inflammation, has been
linked previously to health problems.
But a team in Sweden carried out an observational study to see if it might be a risk factor for early death from cancer as a result of infection and inflammation, both of which are thought to have a role in up to one in five cancers.
The results, published in the journal BMJ Open, found while there were associations with early death, there was no proof that dental plaque causes or definitely contributes to cancer.
Researchers, led by Birgitta Söder, of the Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, tracked the health of almost 1,400 adults from Stockholm for 24 years (1985 to 2009).
All participants were randomly selected and were in their 30s and 40s at the start of the monitoring period. At the beginning of the study, they were questioned on such factors as smoking and levels of affluence, while their mouth hygiene was also assessed to find out what levels of dental plaque, tartar, gum disease, and tooth loss they had.
None had overt gum disease, but they were found to have substantial levels of plaque on the tooth surface.
By 2009, 35 people had died of cancer, about one-third of whom was women (35.6 per cent). The average age of death was 61 for the women and 60 for the men. Deaths among the women were predominantly caused by breast cancer, while those among the men were attributed to a range of different cancers.
Researchers say their deaths were considered premature as the women would have been expected to live about 13 years longer, and the men an additional 8.5 years.
The dental plaque index in those who had died was higher than those who had survived, with values of 0.84 to 0.91, which demonstrates that the gums were covered with plaque.
In comparison, the dental plaque index values among the survivors were lower (0.66 to 0.67), which indicated that the gum was only partially covered with plaque.
When all the risk factors were considered, age almost doubled the risk of a cancer death. And being male increased the odds by 90 per cent.
After the other potential risk factors known to be associated with premature death, such as lower educational attainment, smoking, frequency of dental visits, and lower income were accounted for, the associations between age, male gender, the amount of dental plaque, and premature death remained strong.
Dental plaque was associated with a 79 per cent increased risk of premature death, although the absolute risk of premature death was low, with only 58 out of 1,390 participants dying after 24 years.
However, the authors said their findings do not prove that dental plaque causes or definitely contributes to cancer.
“Our study hypothesis was confirmed by the finding that poor [mouth] hygiene, as reflected in the amount of dental plaque, was associated with increased cancer mortality,” they write. “Further studies are required to determine whether there is any causal element in the observed association.”
The association of dental plaque with cancer mortality in Sweden. Söder B et al. BMJ Open June 12 2012;2:e001083. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001083
Tags: Cancer | Europe | General Health
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1At 25/07/2012 06:25am Stephen Douglas wrote
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