Higher Circulating Vitamin E My Protect Against Gum Disease

27 Apr 2015 --- Periodontitis is a serious chronic inflammatory disease that damages the soft tissue (gums) in the mouth and destroys the underlying bone supporting the teeth. Periodontitis can cause tooth loss, and its presence increases a person's risk for heart disease and stroke.

Because it is usually the result of poor oral hygiene, periodontitis is largely preventable. However, there is growing evidence that diet might also play a role in the disease. In particular, lower consumption of vitamin E - an antioxidant nutrient found primarily in vegetable oils (olive, sunflower, and safflower oils), nuts, whole grains, and green leafy vegetables - has been linked with higher rates of periodontitis.

To help understand this relationship in more detail, Dr. Geng Zong (Unilever Research and Development, The Netherlands) and an international team of nutrition researchers used data from the 1999-2001 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to relate circulating levels of two forms of vitamin E (α- and γ-tocopherol) with presence of clinically-diagnosed periodontitis. Their paper is published in the May 2015 issue of The Journal of Nutrition.
 
A total of ~4,700 adults were studied, all of whom had undergone clinical examination for various forms of periodontitis and had provided a blood sample that was analyzed for both forms of vitamin E. The researchers then used sophisticated statistical analyses to evaluate whether there was a relationship between vitamin E status and periodontal status.
 
After controlling for a variety of factors that might be related to oral health such as age, smoking, ethnicity, and sex, the researchers found an inverse relationship between circulating α-tocopherol and risk for periodontitis. More specifically, people with the lowest levels were 65% more likely to have gum disease than those with the highest levels. This finding was most pronounced in study participants with relatively low vitamin E status. A relationship between vitamin E status and periodontitis risk was less clear when γ-tocopherol was considered. The authors urge additional longitudinal and/or intervention studies to determine if greater vitamin E consumption (especially in the form of α-tocopherol) might serve as a means of primary periodontitis prevention - especially among vitamin E deficient individuals at high risk for the disease.