Research: Poor oral health may lead to decline in brain health

meeting, which will be held in person and electronically Dallas From February 8 to 10, 2023, the world’s leading forum for stroke and brain health researchers and clinicians.

Studies have shown that gum disease, missing teeth and other signs of poor oral health, as well as poor brushing habits and lack of plaque removal, increase the risk of stroke. According to the American Stroke Association, stroke is the number 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States. Previous research has also found that gum disease and other oral health concerns are associated with risk factors for heart disease and other conditions such as high blood pressure.

Study author Cyprien Riviere said, “It is unclear whether poor oral health affects brain health, meaning the functional state of a person’s brain, which we can now better understand using neuroimaging tools such as magnetic resonance imaging or MRI.” capable of being understood.” , MD, MS, postdoctoral fellow in neurology at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. “The study of oral health is particularly important because poor oral health occurs frequently and is an easily modifiable risk factor – everyone can effectively improve their oral health with a minimum of time and financial resources. Investment, ,

Just as healthy lifestyle choices affect the risk of heart disease and stroke, they also affect brain health, which includes the ability to remember things, think clearly, and function in life. According to the latest estimates from the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, three out of five people in the US will develop a brain disease during their lifetime.

Between 2014 and 2021, researchers in this study analyzed the potential link between oral health and brain health among nearly 40,000 adults (46 percent male, average age 57) without a history of stroke enrolled in the UK Biobank. Participants were screened for 105 genetic variants known to cause cavities, dentures and missing teeth later in life, and assessed the association between the burden of these genetic risk factors for poor oral health and brain health it was done.

Participants’ brains were examined for signs of poor brain health through MRI images: White Case hyperintensity, defined as accumulated damage in the white matter of the brain, which can impair memory, balance, and movement; and microstructural damage, which is the degree of change in the fine architecture of the brain compared to images for a normal brain scan of a healthy adult of similar age.

The analysis found:

People genetically predisposed to cavities, missing teeth or needing dentures have a higher burden of silent cerebrovascular disease, as shown by a 24 percent increase in the number of white matter hyperintensities visible on MRI images. represents growth.

Those with overall genetically poor oral health had damage to the fine architecture of the brain, as represented by a 43 percent change in the microstructural damage score visible on MRI scans. The microstructural damage score is a whole-brain summary of the damage created by the fine architecture of each brain region.

“Poor oral health can be a cause of decline in brain health, so we need to be extra careful with our oral hygiene because its effects extend far beyond the mouth,” Riviere said. “However, this study is preliminary, and more evidence needs to be gathered – ideally through clinical trials – to confirm improvements in oral health across populations lead for brain health benefits.”

The analysis was limited by the fact that the UK Biobank only includes people who live in the UK, and that they are predominantly of European ancestry (94 per cent of UK Biobank participants reported their race as white versus 6 per cent as mixed, black). British, Asian British or other). In addition, more research is needed among people of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

American Stroke Association, a Division of the American Heart Association, Stroke Council Member and Volunteer Expert Joseph P. Broderick, MD, FAHA, Professor in the University of Cincinnati Department of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine and Director of the University of Cincinnati Gardner Neuroscience Institute Cincinnati, Ohio In, said that while the study results do not demonstrate that dental hygiene improves brain health, the findings are “interesting” and should inspire more research.

“Environmental factors such as smoking and health conditions such as diabetes are much stronger risk factors for poor oral health than any genetic marker — except for rare genetic conditions associated with poor oral health, such as defective or missing enamel,” Broderick said. Broderick said. “It is still good advice to pay attention to oral hygiene and health. However, since people with poor oral health pay less attention to good oral health than people with normal oral health, it is impossible to prove cause and effect. In addition, genetic profiles for increased risk of oral disease may overlap with genetic risk factors for other chronic health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, infection, etc. that are known to be related to brain imaging markers.Broderick were not involved in this study.

The text of this story is published from a wire agency feed without any modification.