The association between missing teeth and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease in adults

• Published in: Journal of clinical periodontology Vol. 45; no. 8; pp. 941 - 951
• Main Authors: Qiao, Feng, Fu, Kaiyu, Zhang, Qing, Liu, Li, Meng, Ge, Wu, Hongmei, Xia, Yang, Bao, Xue, Gu, Yeqing, Shi, Hongbin, Sun, Shaomei, Wang, Xing, Zhou, Ming, Jia, Qiyu, Song, Kun, Niu, Kaijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Dentistry; epidemiological; Fatty liver; Gum disease; Health risk assessment; Inflammation; Liver diseases; missing teeth; Molars; non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease; periodontal disease; population health; Teeth; Ultrasound; epidemiological; non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; population health; missing teeth; periodontal disease
• ISSN: 0303-6979; 1600-051X
• DOI: 10.1111/jcpe.12929

Aims Long‐term oral chronic inflammatory process is closely related to systemic inflammation, which is a main mechanism involved in non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Tooth loss could reflect the accumulation of oral local inflammation, implying that number of missing teeth may associate with NAFLD. This study evaluated the association between missing teeth and presence of NAFLD in a general population. Materials and Methods A cross‐sectional study of 24,470 adults was carried out from the Tianjin Chronic Low‐grade Systemic Inflammation and Health Cohort Study. The self‐reported number of missing teeth (excluding third molars) was recorded and classified into four categories: 0, 1–2, 3–5, and ≥6. The NAFLD was diagnosed by the liver ultrasonography. Associations were analysed by adjusted multivariable logistic regression. Results The multivariable‐adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of NAFLD across the categories of missing teeth were as follows: in males, 1.00 (reference), 1.04 (0.93–1.16), 1.06 (0.90–1.24), and 1.40 (1.09–1.81) (p for trend = 0.04); in females, 1.00 (reference), 0.98 (0.83–1.15), 1.11 (0.90–1.37), and 1.07 (0.77–1.48) (p for trend = 0.45). Conclusions The number of missing teeth was associated with a higher presence of NAFLD in males but not females.