ISSN : 0376-4672
Recently, several researches indicated the relationship between oral condition and respiratory disease such as pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Respiratory disease is known as common chronic disease in the elderly increasing mortality and morbidity. In this study, we have reviewed the association between oral disease and respiratory disease in the elderly. The related data were searched and collected from abroad and domestic studies. The studies included the randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs), longitudinal, cohort, case-control, and systematic review studies. With the data from the studies,we concluded that poor oral hygiene or periodontal disease can influence the pneumonia in the elderly. Further studies will be needed to investigate the association between oral disease and COPD.
This paper reviews a current view regarding the association between periodontitis and atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ACVD). Many evidences have suggested that there exist biological mechanisms by which periodontitis can lead to ACVD. Periodontal infection can lead to direct bacterial invasion into endothelial tissues through the blood stream, then the bacteria can activate the host inflammatory response followed by atheroma formation, maturation and exacerbation. Also, chronic periodontal infections may indirectly induce endothelial activation or dysfunction through a state of systemic inflammation as evidenced by elevated plasma acute proteins, IL-6 and fibrinogen as well. There is moderate evidence that periodontal treatment can reduce systemic inflammation and improvement of both clinical surrogate markers. But there is no periodontal intervention study available on primary ACVD prevention. There is consistent and strong epidemiologic evidence, including in vitro, animal and clinical studies, that periodontitis imparts increased risk for future ACVD. However, evidences from intervention trials to date are not sufficient to confirm the multi directional causality of periodontitis in ACVD etiology. Well-designed intervention trials on the impact of periodontal treatment on the prevention of ACVD outcomes are needed.
To assess the association between oral health and general health, this study examined the relationship between chewing difficulty and twelve chronic health conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, cerebro- and cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disease, respiratory disease, eye/nose/throat disease, stomach/intestinal ulcer, renal dysfunction, thyroid disease, depression, and cancer in Korea. The study population was 3,066 elders aged 65 years old and more from the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Chewing difficulty was measured on a 5-point Likert scale. Chronic conditions were assessed by self-reported questionnaire. Confounders were age, gender, education, income, smoking, drinking,and obesity. Chi-square test, general linear model, and multiple logistic regression model were done with complex sampling design. Musculoskeletal disease (adjusted odds ratio=1.33), respiratory disease (adjusted odds ratio=1.52), and cancer (adjusted odds ratio=1.58) were independently associated with chewing difficulty. Multiple chronic conditions with more than 4 chronic disease showed significant association with chewing difficulty (adjusted odds ratio=1.37).
