| Summary: |
Aim: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between periodontal
disease and general health status in community-dwelling elderly using serum albumin
concentration as a criterion index of the severity of an underlying disease and nutrition
status.
Methods: Serum albumin level was detected by the bromcresol green albumin (BCG)
method and the data for serum albumin were available in 368 subjects aged 75 years.
Pressure-sensitive probes were used to measure loss of attachment (LA) on six sites of
all teeth present. Information relevant to gender and smoking habit was obtained by
means of a personal interview, while body mass index (BMI) and biochemical serum
markers were investigated.
Results: Serum albumin concentration ranged from 3.2 to 4.8 g/dl with a mean of
4.1 0.2. More than 70% of subjects had at least one site with LA 61mm, while 91
exhibited 10% or more sites with LA 61mm. Using a multiple regression analysis, we
found that sites of LA 61mm had a significant effect on serum albumin level (correlation
coefficient5 0.14; po0.05), which was independent of the other covariates.
Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicated that there might be an
inverse relationship between periodontal disease and serum albumin concentration in
these elderly subjects.
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