Prevalence of Comorbidities in Periodontitis Patients Compared to the General Austrian Population.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the prevalence and impact of comorbidities in patients with periodontitis in Austria.

METHODS: The prevalence of comorbidities was evaluated in 1199 patients with periodontitis (median age: 49, range: 14-83 years). These data were compared to an age and sex matched randomly selected cohort of the Austrian population by an unconditional logistic regression model.

RESULTS: Comorbidities were found in 821/1199=68.5% patients. Allergies had the highest prevalence (29.2%), followed by hypertension (19.4%), musculoskeletal (11.2%), and endocrine disorders (9.7%). Chronic pulmonary disorders (no influenza/pneumonia) were associated with a higher approximal plaque-index (72% versus 63%, p=0.02). No association between characteristics of periodontitis and comorbidities was observed. The prevalence of allergies (29.2% vs. 22.9%) and pulmonary disorders (8.5% vs 4.3%) was significantly higher in periodontitis patients compared to the Austrian population (p<0.001), whereas asthma (1.5% vs. 5.6%), cardiovascular disorders (1.8% vs. 10.5%), depression (7.1% vs. 10.4%), headache (1.3% vs. 20%), hyperlipidemia (6.4% vs. 14.8%), hypertension (14.2% vs. 24.5%), musculoskeletal disorders (11.2% vs. 41.7%), and osteoporosis (2.8% vs. 5.1%) were found less frequently (p<0.001). No differences were observed for cancer, diabetes-mellitus, gastrointestinal disorders and psychiatric disorders (p=0.95, p=0.76, p=0.68, p=0.23, respectively).

CONCLUSION(S): In Austria the majority of patients with periodontitis present with comorbidities and the adjusted prevalence differs significantly from the general population.