A potential risk factor of periodontal disease for chronic bronchitis: A nationwide population-based cohort study

Abstract Objective This study aimed to evaluate the association of periodontal disease with chronic bronchitis(CB). Materials and Methods A retrospective follow-up study using National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort was performed from 2002 to 2015 in the Korean population. A total of 189,274 subjects were followed up for incident CB during 11 years. Periodontal disease and CB were defined by a diagnosis using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes. Periodontal status was divided based on the severity of periodontal status. Periodontal treatments included scaling and root planning. Results Periodontitis was associated with a 5% increase in risk for CB after adjusting for socio-demographic factor, health behaviors, and systemic diseases (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.12). The association of periodontitis with CB was increased in subjects aged 40 to 59 y (aHR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.11), and there is no sex difference (females; aHR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.10, male; aHR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.10). Participants with periodontal treatment showed no increase in hazard risk of CB, while those without periodontal treatment showed an 8% increase in CB risk (aHR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.12). Conclusions Our data showed that periodontal disease had an association with a higher incidence of CB. Thus, the periodic periodontal treatment should be emphasized to reduce the risk of CB. Clinical Relevance Prevention and management of periodontal disease could be beneficial for reducing the risk of chronic bronchitis.