J Clin Periodontol: Relationship between oral disease and COVID19

February 4, 2021 // -- According to a study published in journal of the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP), if COVID-19 patients also have gum disease, they are at least three times more likely to develop complications.
(Photo: www.pixabay.com) A study of more than 500 PATIENT-19 patients found that people without gum disease were 3.5 times more likely to be in intensive care, 4.5 times more likely to need a ventilator, and nine times more likely to die.
gum disease.
blood markers in patients with COVID-19 with gum disease showed significantly higher levels of inflammation in their bodies than in patients without gum disease, suggesting that inflammation could explain the incidence of complications.
study suggests that inflammation in the mouth may open the door to coronavirus becoming more violent.
oral care should be part of health recommendations to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes.
is a serious gum disease that affects up to half of the world's adults.
2 periodontitis can cause inflammation of the gums, and if left untreated, inflammation can spread throughout the body.
COVID-19 is associated with a potentially fatal inflammatory response.
study looked at the relationship between periodontitis and COVID-19 complications.
this is a national case-control study in Qatar, which has electronic health records containing medical and dental data.
the study included 568 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between February 2020 and July 2020.
40 of them had complications (ICU) and needed a ventilator or death, while 528 did not.
collected information about gum disease and other factors that may be associated with COVID-19 complications, including body mass index (BMI), smoking, asthma, heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
also obtained data on blood levels of chemicals associated with inflammation in the body.
258 (45%) of the 568 COVID-19 patients in this study had gum disease.
adjusted age, sex, BMI, smoking status and other conditions, the risk of COVID-19 complications in patients with gum disease was as high as 3.67 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.46-9.27) and the ICU hospitalization rate was 3.27 compared to patients without gum disease. 54 (95% CI 1.39-9.05), ventilator need ratio of 4.57 (95% CI 1.19-17.4), death ratio of 8.81 (95% CI 1.00-77.7).
"If a causal relationship is established between periodontitis in patients with COVID-19 and an increased risk of adverse outcomes, then establishing and maintaining periodont health may be an important part of these patient cares," the authors note.
() Source: Gum disease linked to COVID-19 complications Original source: Association between periodontitis and severity of COVID-19 ing: case-control study. J Clin Periodontol. 2021. DOI: 10.1111/jcpe.13435.