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(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2003;23:1250.)
© 2003 American Heart Association, Inc.

Atherosclerosis and Lipoproteins

Antibodies to Periodontal Pathogens Are Associated With Coronary Heart Disease

Pirkko J. Pussinen; Pekka Jousilahti; Georg Alfthan; Timo Palosuo; Sirkka Asikainen; Veikko Salomaa

From the Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Helsinki University Central Hospital (P.J.P., S.A.), Finland; Umeå University (S.A.), Sweden; and Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion (P.J., V.S.) and Department of Health and Functional Ability (G.A., T.P.), KTL-National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland.

Correspondence to Pirkko Pussinen, Institute of Dentistry, University of Helsinki, PO Box 63, FIN-00014, Helsinki, Finland. E-mail pirkko.pussinen{at}helsinki.fi

Objective— We analyzed the association of coronary heart disease (CHD) and serology of periodontitis in a random sample (n=1163) of men (aged 45 to 74 years) by determining serum IgG-antibodies to Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Methods and Results— CHD (n=159) was more prevalent among edentulous than dentate subjects (19.8% and 12.1%, P=0.003). In the dentate population, CHD was more common among subjects seropositive for P. gingivalis compared with those seronegative (14.0% and 9.7%, P=0.029). Accordingly, CHD was more prevalent in subjects with a high combined antibody response than those with a low response (17.4% and 11.1%, P=0.026). When adjusted for age and several CHD risk factors, the subjects with a high combined antibody response had an odds ratio of 1.5 (95% CI, 0.95 to 2.50, P=0.077) for prevalent CHD. In a linear regression model, the combined antibody response was directly associated with prevalent CHD (P=0.046) and inversely with serum HDL cholesterol concentration (P=0.050).

Conclusions— In conclusion, edentulousness and serum antibodies to major periodontal pathogens were associated with CHD. This suggests that periodontal infection or response of the host against the infection may play a role in the pathogenesis of CHD.

Key Words: atherosclerosis • cardiovascular diseases • antibodies • infection • inflammation

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