Large Study Links Gum Disease With Dementia

A study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease suggests that bacteria that causes gum disease also are associated with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, especially vascular dementia, reports the U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA). The NIA Intramural Research Program team examined publicly available data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which covered more than 6,000 participants. The researchers analyzed antibodies against 19 oral bacteria for an association with the diagnosis of Alzheimer's, diagnosis of any kind of dementia, and death from Alzheimer's. The oral bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis is the most common gum disease-causing bacterium, and older adults with signs of gum disease and mouth infections at baseline were more likely to develop Alzheimer's during the study period. Among subjects 65 or older, both Alzheimer's diagnoses and deaths were associated with antibodies against P. gingivalis , which can cluster with bacteria like Campylobacter rectus and Prevotella melaninogenica to compound risks.