Association of Periodontal Disease and Impaired Renal Function: Evaluation of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2016

Abstract

Background: There are numerous risk factors associated with the development and progression of periodontal disease such as smoking, poor oral hygiene, and diabetes. Systemic inflammation has been proposed as a possible link between periodontitis and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although an association of periodontal disease and other systemic conditions has been established in literature, a correlation between periodontal disease and CKD is currently not well-established. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess whether there is a correlation between periodontal disease and impaired renal function. Methods: NHANES survey data from years 2011-2016 was used and all analyses were conducted using SAS9.4. Descriptive statistics were conducted for characteristics including age, gender, race/ethnicity, periodontal disease, advanced periodontal disease, and impaired renal function. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the association between periodontal disease and impaired renal function. Results: The results of this study show that there is an association between increasing age and impaired renal function. Specifically, participants aged 65 years and older had increased odds for impaired renal function with an OR of 3.89. The results of this study also showed increased odds for impaired renal function for participants that were Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic compared to non-Hispanic white with an odds ratio of 1.62 and 1.45 respectively. Participants who had advanced periodontal disease had increased odds for impaired renal function compared to participants who did not have advanced periodontal disease. Conclusion: Participants with advanced periodontal disease had increased odds for impaired renal function compared to participants who did not have advanced periodontal disease. Further research is needed to determine a direct correlation and whether there are positive clinical effects of non-surgical periodontal therapy in improving outcomes in patients with CKD.