Conference News Update

The researchers considered tooth scaling frequent if it occurred at least twice or more in two years; occasional tooth scaling was once or fewer in two years.

The study included more than 51,000 adults who had received at least one full or partial tooth scaling and a similar number of people matched with gender and health conditions who had no tooth scaling. None of the participants had a history of heart attack or stroke at the beginning of the study.

The investigators did not adjust for heart attack and stroke risk factors—such as weight, smoking, and race—that were not included in the Taiwan National Health insurance database, the source of the information used in the analysis.

“Protection from heart disease and stroke was more pronounced in participants who got tooth scaling at least once a year,” said Emily (Zu-Yin) Chen, MD, Cardiology Fellow at the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.

Professional tooth scaling appears to reduce inflammation-causing bacterial growth that can lead to heart disease or stroke, she said.

Type of Periodontal Disease Predicts Degree of Risk for Heart Attack, Stroke, and Heart Failure
Researchers have found that the value of markers for gum disease predict heart attack, congestive heart failure, and stroke in different ways and to different degrees.

Anders Holmlund, PhD, of the Centre for Research and Development of the County Council of Gävleborg, Sweden, studied 7,999 participants with periodontal disease and found people with:

• Fewer than 21 teeth had a 69% increased risk of heart attack, compared with those with the most teeth.

• A higher number of deepened periodontal pockets (infection of the gum around the base of the tooth) had a 53% increased risk of heart attack, compared with those with the fewest pockets.

• The least amount of teeth had a 2.5-fold increased risk of congestive heart failure, compared with those with the most teeth.

• The highest incidence of gum bleeding had a 2.1-fold increased risk of stroke, compared with those with the lowest incidence.

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages May Increase Cardiovascular Risk in Women
Drinking two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day may expand a woman’s waistline and increase her risk of heart disease and diabetes, according to investigators.

The researchers compared middle-aged and older women who drank two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day, such as carbonated sodas or flavored waters with added sugar, with women who drank one or fewer daily. Women consuming two or more beverages per day were nearly four times as likely to develop high triglycerides, and they were significantly more likely to increase their waist sizes and to develop impaired fasting glucose levels. The same associations were not observed in men.

“Women who drank more than two sugar-sweetened drinks a day had increasing waist sizes but weren’t necessarily gaining weight,” said Christina Shay, PhD, lead author and Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. “These women also developed high triglycerides, and women with normal blood glucose levels more frequently went from having a low risk to a high risk of developing diabetes over time.”

The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) included food frequency surveys in 4,166 African-American, Caucasian, Chinese-

American, and Hispanic adults ages 45 to 84. At the beginning of the study, the participants did not have cardiovascular disease.

The researchers assessed risk factors in three follow-up exams that spanned five years, starting in 2002. Participants were monitored for weight gain, increases in waist circumference, low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), high levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDL), high triglycerides, impaired fasting glucose levels, and type 2 diabetes.

“Most people assume that individuals who consume a lot of sugar-sweetened drinks have an increase in obesity, which, in turn, increases their risk for heart disease and diabetes,” said Dr. Shay, formerly of Northwestern University’s Department of Preventive Medicine in Chicago, where the study was conducted. “Although this does occur, this study showed that risk factors for heart disease and stroke developed even when the women didn’t gain weight.”

Women may have a greater chance of developing cardiovascular disease risk factors from sugar-sweetened drinks, because they require fewer calories than men, which makes each calorie count more toward cardiovascular risk in women, Dr. Shay added.

The researchers have yet to determine exactly how sugar-sweetened beverages influence cardiovascular risk factors such as high triglycerides in people who do not gain weight, Dr. Shay said, but further work is planned.

Abused Girls May Have Higher Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke in Adulthood
Sexually and physically abused girls may have higher risks for heart attacks, heart disease, and strokes as adults, researchers reported.