Changes in body weight and adiposity predict periodontitis progression in men

Most studies linking obesity and periodontal disease have been cross-sectional in design. we examined whether gains in body weight,waist circumference,and arm fat area are associated with periodontitis progression in 893 non-diabetic men followed for up to four decades in the prospective va dental longitudinal study. probing pocket depth (ppd) was measured by calibrated examiners. repeated-measures generalized linear models estimated the mean cumulative numbers of teeth with ppd events (ppd > 3 mm) at each dental examination and the slopes associated with increasing numbers of affected teeth over time. means were adjusted for baseline ppd,education,and cigarette pack-years,and time-dependent values of age,mean plaque score,cigarette packs/day,brushing,and flossing. men who were overweight at baseline and gained weight most rapidly (> 0.19 kg/yr or ∼15 lb during follow-up) had significantly more ppd events than men in the lowest tertile of weight gain (≥ -0.05 kg/yr). overweight men whose waist circumference increased > 0.14-0.39 or > 0.39 cm/yr experienced more ppd events than men in the lowest tertile (≥ 0.14 cm/yr). increase in arm fat area was associated with disease progression in normal-weight men. these results suggest that tracking adiposity changes with easily obtained anthropometric measures may help predict risk of periodontitis progression. © 2012 international & american associations for dental research.