Relationship between Metabolic Syndrome and Present Teeth in Japanese

Subjects and Methods: 512 Japanese men and women aged 42 or older attended complete oral and general health examination held in remote islands in Nagasaki, Japan in 2008. Subjects were divided into four groups according to the number of present teeth; 0, 1-9, 10-19, and 20 or more teeth. Four groups were compared for components of metabolic syndrome. Logistic regression analysis was carried out using components of metabolic syndrome as dependent variables and groups of the number of present teeth as independent variables.

Results: Means of waist circumferences and systolic blood pressure, and the proportion of hypertension were significantly different among the four groups. Crude odds ratios of subjects with 0, 1-9 and 10-19 teeth for having hypertension were significantly elevated (4.3, 4.9, and 2.4, respectively), when compared with subjects with 20 or more teeth. Adjusted odds ratios of subjects with 0, 1-9 and 10-19 teeth for having hypertension were significantly elevated (2.5, 2.7, and 1.8, respectively) after adjusted for age, gender, smoking and alcohol habits.

Conclusion: The decreased number of present teeth is independently associated with increased risk of hypertension in this population.