General Diseases in Subjects with Severe Gingivitis, a Longitudinal Study

Objective: The aim was to study general diseases, hospitalization and risk for coronary heart disease in subjects with severe gingival inflammation in a longitudinal study. Methods: The material consisted of 98 subjects, mean age 49.1(+-2.9SD) years, 59 females and 39 males. They underwent a clinical oral examination 1985 and were reexamined 2003 with determination of e.g. plaque index (PLI), gingival index (GI), pocket depth (PD). They were also asked about parent's history of heart infarction or stroke before 65 years of age. The subjects were diagnosed at the hospital according to the International Classification of Diseases, ICD-9. Analysis of Variance was the statistical method used. Results: High level of GI, was found in 39 subjects with mean GI 2.1 (+- 0.10SE) and low GI in 59 subjects 0.2 (+-0.04SE)(p<0.001). Subjects with high level of GI were diagnosed with following diseases: Infectious and parasitic diseases (ICD-9, 001-139), Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (ICD-9, 710-739), Injury and poisoning (ICD-9, 800-999) and Diseases of the respiratory system (ICD-9, 460-519). This was not found in subjects with low level of GI. Subjects with high level GI had more often parents with cardiovascular incidences compared to subjects with low GI (p< 0.05, chi square 3.76). Conclusions: Subjects with high GI seems to have different pattern of general diseases compared subjects with low GI. The Karolinska Institutet and The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden, supported the study.