Men with a history of bone loss due to periodontal disease run a higher risk of having a stroke, according to a study in the Annals of Neurology (May 28, 2009). The researchers analyzed data from 1,137 men in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study, an ongoing study that began in the 1960s with healthy volunteers from the Boston Area. Participants underwent medical and dental exams every three years for an average of 24 years.
Overall, 80 incident cases of cerebrovascular disease occurred during a combined 27,506 person-years, and the periodontal bone loss was “significantly associated” with an increased hazard rate of cerebrovascular disease.