Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gum Disease Linked

Those with rheumatoid arthritis may be eight times more likely to have gum disease, German researchers said.

The study, published in the Journal of Periodontology, compared 57 rheumatoid arthritis patients to 52 healthy controls. Oral hygiene was found to be a factor, but the researchers determined poor oral hygiene alone did not account for the link between periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

With results suggesting that rheumatoid arthritis is associated with periodontal disease, it is easy to assume that an rheumatoid arthritis sufferer is perhaps unable to properly care for his or her teeth and gums due to the debilitating nature of the disease, Dr. Kenneth Kornman, editor of the Journal of Periodontology, said in a statement. However, this study implies that there are other potential factors involved. For instance, both rheumatoid arthritis and gum disease are systemic inflammatory disorders which may explain the connection between the two.

Kornman noted two other conditions also linked with periodontal disease — cardiovascular disease and diabetes — also have inflammation in common.

The Berlin researchers accounted for demographic and lifestyle characteristics such as age, gender, education and tobacco use and then examined the extent to which poor oral hygiene was connected to the increased occurrence of gum disease.