by Playfuls Staff |
17th January 2007
A recent Harvard study shows that gum disease can more than double a person’s risk of pancreatic cancer.
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There are previous researches that suggest people with infected gums may be more prone to some serious illnesses, such as heart disease. This new study is especially comprehensive, including data from over 50,000 participants.
Dominique S. Michaud of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and colleagues analyzed data from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, which has gathered data about a wide range of health issues from 51,529 American male health professionals. It also took into account, unlike its predecessors, smoking. The participants, a large number of whom were non-smokers, were followed over a period of 16 years.
Taking into consideration such factors as age, smoking, diabetes and body mass index, the researchers found that the men with gum disease were 63 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those without gum disease. Non-smokers with gum disease were twice as likely to develop the hard-to-treat cancer as those with healthy gums.
"Our study provides the first strong evidence that periodontal disease may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer," said Michaud, who reported the findings in today's issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Gum disease (or periodontal disease) consists of an infection of the tissues that support a person’s teeth. According to the Harvard study, the more severe the gum disease, the greater the risk of discovering pancreatic cancer.
Losing a tooth during the past four years from gum disease was associated with a 2.7-fold increase in cancer of the pancreas.
It isn’t clear yet how gum disease leads to pancreatic cancer. The researchers themselves have stressed the need for further studies. Michaud and colleagues suggest that longstanding gum infections trigger a bodywide immune response: inflammation. Inflamed tissues give off chemical signals that promote tumor growth.
The pancreas produces enzymes that contribute to the digestion of food and it also secretes hormones which maintain and regulate body sugar levels, among other things.
The most common periodontal diseases are gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is a milder and reversible form of gum disease that only affects the gums. Gingivitis may lead to more serious, destructive forms of gum disease called periodontitis.
Factors that increase the risk of gum disease are smoking or chewing tobacco, bridges that no longer fit properly, crooked teeth, fillings that need changing. Bleeding gums, or red, swollen gums are warning signs, as well as persistent bad breath or taste, permanent teeth that are loose or falling, changes in the way your teeth fit together when you bite etc.
Doctors recommend regular dental checkups, because sometimes there are no warning signs to a gum disease.
The Harvard study involved 51,529 dentists, veterinarians, pharmacists, optometrists, doctors and other health professionals followed since 1986. The men filled out questionnaires about their health every two years. Between 1986 and 2002, there were 216 confirmed cases of pancreatic cancer. Of those, 67 reported periodontal disease.
According to background information released with the study, 25 cases of pancreatic cancer would be expected per 100,000 men. Having periodontal disease bumped that rate to 61 per 100,000 men.
Pancreatic cancer strikes more than 33,000 Americans each year and kills more than 30,000, making it the fourth-leading cause of cancer death.
The findings appear in the Jan. 17 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
