Relationship of toothbrushing to metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults

• Main Authors: Furuta, M. (Author), Shimazaki, Y. (Author), Shinagawa, T. (Author), Suma, S. (Author), Takeshita, T. (Author), Takeuchi, K. (Author), Tanaka, A. (Author), Yamashita, Y. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Blackwell Munksgaard 2018
• Subjects: adult; Adult; epidemiology; female; Female; follow up; Follow-Up Studies; human; Humans; Japan; lifestyle-related diseases; male; Male; Metabolic Syndrome; metabolic syndrome X; middle aged; Middle Aged; oral health behaviour; oral hygiene; periodontitis; questionnaire; retrospective cohort study; Retrospective Studies; retrospective study; Surveys and Questionnaires; tooth brushing; Toothbrushing
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Aim: To examine the effect of toothbrushing on the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS), including assessment of periodontal status, in middle-aged adults. Methods: This 5-year follow-up retrospective study was performed in 3,722 participants (2,897 males and 825 females) aged 35–64 years who underwent both medical check-ups and dental examinations. Metabolic components included obesity, elevated triglycerides, blood pressure, fasting glucose and reduced high-density lipoprotein. Toothbrushing frequency was assessed using a questionnaire. Periodontal disease was defined as having at least one site with a pocket depth of ≥4 mm. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between toothbrushing frequency at the baseline examination and the development of MetS (≥3 components). Results: During follow-up, 11.1% of participants developed MetS. After adjusting for potential confounders including periodontal disease, participants with more frequent daily toothbrushing tended to have significantly lower odds of developing MetS (p for trend =.01). The risk of development of MetS was significantly lower in participants brushing teeth ≥3 times/day than in those brushing teeth ≤1 time/day (odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval = 0.45–0.92). Conclusions: Frequent daily toothbrushing was associated with lower risk of development of MetS. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd