Cancer risk among gingivitis and periodontitis patients: a nationwide cohort study

• Published in: QJM : An International Journal of Medicine Vol. 107; no. 4; pp. 283 - 290
• Main Authors: Wen, B.- W., Tsai, C.- S., Lin, C.- L., Chang, Y.- J., Lee, C.- F., Hsu, C.- H., Kao, C.- H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.04.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Female; Gingivitis - complications; Gingivitis - epidemiology; Humans; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Mouth Neoplasms - epidemiology; Mouth Neoplasms - etiology; Periodontitis - complications; Periodontitis - epidemiology; Risk Assessment - methods; Sex Distribution; Taiwan - epidemiology; Young Adult; Taiwan
• ISSN: 1460-2725; 1460-2393; 1460-2393
• DOI: 10.1093/qjmed/hct248

Periodontal disease encompasses gingivitis and periodontitis, which exerts systemic effects. We conducted a population-based study to evaluate the association between periodontal disease and the risk of cancer. We used insurance claims data from 1997 to 2010, accessing a database of 1 million randomly selected insurants in Taiwan. All patients were older than 20 and newly diagnosed with periodontitis between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2010. The comparison cohort comprised patients older than 20, who were newly diagnosed with gingivitis in the same period. Both cohorts were followed until a cancer diagnosis, lost to follow-up, death, termination of insurance, or the end of 2010. The incidence rate of cancer was 1.14 times higher in the study cohort than in the comparison cohort [confidence interval (CI) = 1.11-1.17]. The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 1.05 (95% CI = 1.00-1.11). A multivariable analysis showed that the periodontitis patients exhibited an elevated risk of developing oral cancer (adjusted HR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.42-2.25). The findings indicated that patients in the periodontitis cohort exhibited a higher risk of developing oral cancer than those in the gingivitis cohort.