Periodontal disease-associated micro-organisms and use of hormone replacement therapy

Objectives:

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is used by women to mainly relieve climacteric symptoms. HRT may also have implications in the oral cavity. Our study hypothesis was that women using HRT harbor less frequently periodontal bacteria than non-users because they are anticipated to be more health conscious in general. This, subsequently, might reflect in their periodontal health.

Methods:

Originally 200 HRT users and 200 non-HRT users from age cohorts of 50, 52, 54, 56 and 58 years were invited for 2-year open study with clinical and microbiological examinations. For final analyses, 106 HRT users, and 55 non-users were available. Periodontal health status and treatment need (CPI) were recorded using WHO recommendations. Periodontal micro-organisms were analyzed by PCR and the results were analyzed statistically with respect to health parameters.

Results:

Among all the women P. gingivalis (P.g.) was detected at baseline in 21 %, A. actinomycetemcomitans (A.a.) in 2 %, T. forsythia (T.f.) in 50 % and P. intermedia (P.i.) in 33 %, P. nigrescens (P.n.) in 60 % and T. denticola (T.n.) in 30 %. There was no statistically significant difference in the frequency of positive microbial findings between the groups. However, in HRT group the number of P. g -positive women decreased significantly during the two-year observation (p<0.05). High CPI score explained the majority of cases harboring the specific micro-organisms (OR:s for P.g. 3.73 at baseline vs. 3.04 at follow up, for P.i. 2.77 vs. 1.98, and T.d. 2.26 vs. 2.95, respectively).

Conclusions:

The use of HRT did not correlate with infection with specific periodontal micro-organisms. The result on P.g. might be due to improved oral hygiene habits during the study.

Acknowledgement: Supported by grant TYH 3245 of the Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland