Serum vitamin C-periodontal relationship in community-dwelling elderly Japanese

Objective: To determine the relationship between serum vitamin C and periodontitis as estimated by clinical attachment loss (CAL) in community-dwelling elderly Japanese. Material and Methods: This analysis was confined to 413 Niigata citizens aged 70 years in whom the data for serum vitamin C and CAL were available. High-pressure liquid chromatography method was used to ascertain the serum vitamin C levels while CAL was assessed on six sites of all teeth present including third molars by means of pressure-sensitive probes. Other variables included gender, smoking, toothbrushing frequency, number of teeth present and random blood sugar levels. Results: Serum vitamin C concentration was inversely related to CAL (r=-0.23, p<0.00005) at bivariate level. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that CAL was 4% greater in subjects with lower serum vitamin C levels than in subjects with higher serum vitamin C levels notwithstanding smoking, diabetes, oral hygiene, gender or number of teeth present. Conclusion: The findings suggested that serum vitamin C might have relatively weak but a statistically significant relationship with periodontitis in this elderly population.