Poor oral health tied to higher risk for Meniere disease

Poor oral health may increase the incidence of Meniere disease, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of Personalized Medicine.

Jung-Hyun Park, from Mokdong Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues examined the association between oral health and Meniere disease. Participant data were retrieved from the National Health Insurance Database of the Korean National Health Insurance Service. The analysis included 2.24 million adults undergoing oral health screening by dentists in 2003 with a median 16.7 years of follow-up.

The researchers found that 5.0 percent of participants developed Meniere disease. There were significant associations observed between poor oral health status (periodontitis: adjusted hazard ratio, 1.18) and an increased number of missing teeth (≥15: adjusted hazard ratio, 1.25), which was associated with an increased risk for Meniere disease.

There was an inverse association seen between better oral hygiene behaviors (adjusted hazard ratios, 0.75 and 0.98 for frequent tooth brushing of at least three times a day and dental scaling within one year, respectively) and occurrence of Meniere disease. A subgroup analysis showed that periodontitis was more strongly associated with Meniere disease in younger subgroups and subgroups with low body mass index.

"The main findings of the present study were that periodontitis and increased tooth loss were correlated with an increased risk of the occurrence of Meniere's disease," the authors write. "Our [subgroup analysis] findings suggested that, although Meniere's disease and periodontitis are less common in young and nonobese individuals, the systemic inflammation associated with periodontitis may significantly influence the development of Meniere's disease in younger individuals and individuals with a low body mass index."

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