Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Association Between Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Periodontitis Endpoints Among Nonsmokers

Conclusions:
There appears to be a positive association between exposure to ETS and prevalent periodontitis endpoints among nonsmokers, the magnitude of which depended mostly on the method of ETS assessment.

Implications:
The notoriety of ETS is often discussed in terms of its associations with cancer, chronic conditions like cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory illnesses in children. However, very little attention is paid to its association with oral diseases, especially periodontitis. Periodontitis affects a large proportion of the population and is a major cause of tooth loss. This study summarized the epidemiologic association between exposure to ETS and periodontitis among nonsmokers. Although the findings are consistent with a positive association, methodological weaknesses relating to study design, assessment of ETS, periodontitis, and adjustment covariates were highlighted and recommendations for improvement in future studies provided.

Source: Nicotine and Tobacco Research - October 7, 2016 Category: Addiction Authors: Akinkugbe, A. A., Slade, G. D., Divaris, K., Poole, C. Tags: Review Source Type: research