生物谷报道：心血管疾病是当今社会人类主要杀手之一。很多人都知道，保持一个好的生活习惯，比如恰当饮食、足够锻炼以及戒烟等，可以帮助预防心血管疾病。美国科学家近日称，每天两次使用牙刷和牙线清洁牙齿，或许也可达到相同的效果。因为他们研究发现，牙周病患者心血管疾病患病风险比普通人高。相关论文发表在2007年12月份的《牙周病学杂志》（Journal of Periodontology）上。
最新研究由美国霍华德大学的Indra Z. Mustapha领导完成。研究人员重新分析了11例牙周病与心血管疾病相关性的研究，测量了参与者身体内细菌水平，特别是与牙周病有关的细菌，并测量了多种生物指示剂的水平。结果发现，患有牙周病的个体更易患冠心病和动脉粥样化形成。
《牙周病学杂志》编辑Kenneth Kornman表示，“之前有很多研究发现，口腔疾病与心脏病之间可能存在联系，但是对于其中的原因以及发生的条件却不得而知。此次研究表明，慢性牙周炎的长期作用最终可能会导致心血管疾病。”
美国牙周病学会（AAP）会长Susan Karabin说：“虽然还需要更多的研究以更好了解牙周病和心血管疾病之间的关系，但此次研究表明了保护牙齿和口腔的重要性，这样能够保护我们的心脏。随着心脏病患者的增加，如下这些事情是很重要的，即一天两次使用牙刷和牙线清洁牙齿，定期去看牙医，这样将能够帮助降低导致其它健康问题的风险。”（生物谷援引科学网）
生物谷推荐英文原文：
Abstract
Journal of Periodontology
2007, Vol. 78, No. 12, Pages 2289-2302
(doi:10.1902/jop.2007.070140)
Markers of Systemic Bacterial Exposure in Periodontal Disease and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Indra Z. Mustapha,* Sarah Debrey, Michael Oladubu, and Richard Ugarte§
*Department of Periodontology, Howard University, Washington, DC.
†Stroke Neuroscience Unit, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
‡Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
§Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD.
Correspondence: Dr. Indra Z. Mustapha, 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, #1028, Washington, DC 20004. E-mail: imustaph@jhsph.edu.
Background: Recent meta-analyses reported a weak association between periodontal disease (PD) on clinical examination and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Systemic bacterial exposure from periodontitis, which correlates poorly with the clinical examination, has been proposed as the more biologically pertinent risk factor. The purpose of this study was to review and analyze the association between PD with elevated systemic bacterial exposure and CVD.
Methods: We searched in the PubMed, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, EMBASE, and SCOPUS databases for all literature examining PD and CVD. From 10 selected publications, we extracted 12 cohort (N = 5) and cross-sectional (N = 7) studies and included 11 of these in a meta-analysis. With stratified analyses, this resulted in 14 analyses of coronary heart disease (CHD; N = 7), stroke (N = 4), and carotid intima-medial thickening (CIMT; N = 3) as a measure of early atherosclerosis. Systemic bacterial exposure was measured by periodontal bacterial burden (N = 1), periodontitis-specific serology (N = 12), or C-reactive protein (N = 1).
Results: Periodontal disease with elevated markers of systemic bacterial exposure was associated strongly with CHD compared to subjects without PD, with a summary odds ratio of 1.75 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32 to 2.34; P <0.001). This group was not associated with CVD events or with stroke but was associated with a significant increase in mean CIMT (0.03 mm; 95% CI: 0.02 to 0.04).
Conclusion: Periodontal disease with elevated bacterial exposure is associated with CHD events and early atherogenesis (CIMT), suggesting that the level of systemic bacterial exposure from periodontitis is the biologically pertinent exposure with regard to atherosclerotic risk.
KEYWORDS: Cardiovascular disease, C-reactive protein, immunoglobulins, periodontal disease, periodontitis, stroke
