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Ragnarsson E, Eliasson ST et al. Int J Prosthodont 2004; 17: 441–446

There is current interest in whether periodontal disease may cause other illnesses, such as heart disease. Early studies suggested such a link, but evidence has been accumulating to suggest that smoking is a major confounding factor. The present study involved two samples of Icelandic subjects: 1,023 from an Icelandic Heart Society study, and 1,590 from a WHO cardiovascular disease project.

During the studies, which lasted respectively from 1966 to 1998, and 1987 to 1998, 353 subjects died, 82 of them from heart disease. From all CHD mortality data, adjusted odds ratios were calculated, allowing for known risk factors in the order: age and gender, cholesterol, blood pressure, educational level and smoking. When edentulousness was considered, significant but very small hazard ratios were obtained (means 1.88 to 1.46) until smoking was added (1.46; CIs 0.88–2.43); number of yrs of edentulism and number of remaining teeth gave totally insignificant hazard ratios throughout.