Periodontal Disease and
Alzheimer’s Disease – Is There a Connection?
According
to studies at New York University published in August of 2010 periodontal
disease may signal a risk of cognitive dysfunction associated with Alzheimer’s
disease. Cognitive dysfunction refers to the brains diminished ability to
process information.
Study
leader Dr. Angela Kramer and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis involving 20
years of data that supports a possible causal link between periodontal disease,
or gum inflammation, and Alzheimer's disease, which involves brain
inflammation. "The research suggests that cognitively normal subjects with
periodontal inflammation are at an increased risk of lower cognitive function
compared to cognitively normal subjects with little or no periodontal
inflammation," Kramer said in a statement.
Kramer's
team then compared cognitive function at ages 50 and 70, using the Digit Symbol
Test, a part of the standard measurement of adult IQ. The researchers did an
analysis of periodontal inflammation and cognitive function in 152 subjects in
the Glistered Aging Study, involving Danish men and women over a 20-year period
ending in 1984, when the subjects were all age 70.
The study found
that periodontal inflammation at age 70 was strongly associated with lower
Digit Symbol Test scores at age 70. Subjects with periodontal inflammation were
nine times more likely to test in the lower range of the Digit Symbol test
compared to subjects with little or no periodontal inflammation.
Periodontal or gum disease leads to loss of
bone and other supporting structures in the mouth. This bone loss accounts for
the great majority of tooth loss in adults.
Tooth loss is a
significant predictor of mortality independent of health factors,
socio-economic status, and lifestyle in older adults, with a stronger
association in females.
These
two factors alone show how constant inflammation and infection in the mouth may
affect the entire body. Stop periodontal disease at the earliest stages and
protect your entire body.
