Increased Risk of Carotid Atherosclerosis in Male Patients with Chronic Periodontitis: A Nationwide Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study

Carotid artery stenosis is a narrowing or constriction of any part of the carotid arteries, usually caused by atherosclerosis. However, no studies have specifically evaluated the association between carotid atherosclerosis (CA) and chronic periodontitis (CP). This study was to investigate the role of CP in increasing the subsequent risk of CA in the overall Taiwanese population. We carried out this retrospective cohort study, employing data derived from the National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 72,630 patients who were newly diagnosed with CP from 2001 to 2012 were selected. For a propensity-matched control group, 72,630 healthy patients without CP were picked at random, matched according to age, sex, and index year from the general population. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, which included sex, age, and comorbidities, was adopted to assess the hazard ratio (HR) of CA between the CP cohort and non-CP cohort. The average ages of the CP and non-CP groups were 44.02 +/- 14.63 years and 44.15 +/- 14.41 years, respectively. The follow up durations were 8.65 and 8.59 years for CP and non-CP groups, respectively. The results demonstrated that 305 and 284 patients with newly diagnosed CA were found in the CP cohort and non-CP cohort, respectively. There was no significant difference of developing CA in the CP cohort compared with the non-CP cohort (adjusted HR) 1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI, 0.86-1.19). However, multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the male group had significantly higher incidence risk of CA (log rank p = 0.046). In conclusion, this nationwide retrospective cohort study indicated that male patients with CP exhibited a significantly higher risk of CA than those without CP.