Association between life's essential 8 and periodontitis: evidence from NHANES 2009-2014.

Objectives: To explore the relationship between Life's Essential 8 (LE-8) and periodontitis, specifically focusing on identifying the specific factors within LE-8 significantly linked to periodontitis.

Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009-2014), involving 8160 participants with available LE-8 metrics and periodontal examination results. The LE-8 metrics, encompassing diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, sleep health, body mass index, blood liquids, blood glucose, and blood pressure were collected for analysis. Periodontitis diagnosis followed CDC-AAP guidelines.

Results: 4049 subjects with periodontitis (mean age, 54.80 years; 57.93% male) and 4111 subjects without periodontitis (mean age, 48.66 years; 42.61% male) were included in this study. Periodontitis subjects had lower total LE-8 scores (64.62 [63.94, 65.30]) than periodontitis-free subjects (71.34 [70.65, 72.03]). The risk of periodontitis risk significantly decreased with increasing LE-8 score. Specific factors within LE-8, including avoidance of nicotine (Adjusted OR = 0.90 [0.88, 0.92]), healthy sleep (Adjusted OR = 0.95 [0.92, 0.99]), and healthy levels of blood glucose (Adjusted OR = 0.94 [0.90, 0.98]) were negatively associated with periodontitis presences.

Conclusions: Higher scores in life's essential 8 metrics, particularly in nicotine exposure, sleep health, and blood glucose, may benefit periodontal health.

Clinical relevance: Adopting a healthy lifestyle reduces the risk of periodontitis. Avoiding smoking, sufficient sleep, and stable blood glucose are linked to lower periodontitis risk. Healthcare professionals should advise individuals with lower life's essential 8 scores to prioritize oral care.