Sleep duration and severe periodontitis in middle-aged Japanese workers

Aim To evaluate the association between sleep duration and severe periodontitis in Japanese workers. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study included 1130 workers (mean age 43.0 years) who underwent full-mouth periodontal examinations and health check-ups and completed a self-administered questionnaire that included questions on sleep duration. Logistic regression and a restricted cubic spline model were used to analyse the data. Results Severe periodontitis was identified in 6.3% of the study population. Those with <5, 5-5.9, 6-6.9, 7-7.9, and >= 8 hr of sleep were 6.7%, 17.4%, 40.3%, 26.3%, and 8.9%, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, study participants who slept <5 hr were more likely to have severe periodontitis (adjusted odds ratio = 2.64; 95% confidence interval = 1.06-6.60) than those who slept 7-7.9 hr. The spline model, with a reference value of 399 min (the median sleep duration), showed a non-linear association between sleep duration and severe periodontitis, where an increased prevalence of severe periodontitis was observed only among those with a shorter sleep duration. The prevalence of severe periodontitis did not increase with longer sleep duration. Conclusions Short sleep duration was associated with severe periodontitis in this cohort of Japanese adults.

Automated summary

A study in Japanese adults found that short sleep duration was associated with severe periodontitis, with those sleeping less than 7-7.9 hours being at higher risk of periodontitis. The prevalence of severe periodontitis did not increase with longer sleep durations.