The effects of lipid-lowering agents (LLA) on reducing systemic and oral inflammation have not been evaluated.
Objective
To assess the association of LLA use with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and oral inflammation.
Design
Cross-sectional analysis using baseline data from 1,300 overweight/obese participants aged 40–65 years, recruited for the ongoing San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal Study. Serum hs-CRP was measured by ELISA, gingival/periodontal inflammation was evaluated as bleeding upon probing (BOP), and LLA was self-reported. Separate logistic models were performed for systemic and oral inflammation.
Results
24% participants reported history of dyslipidemia, of which, 50.3% self-reported LLA use. Sixty percent of the participants had elevated hs-CRP (>3 mg/dL) and 50% had high BOP (defined as at or above the median: 21%). After adjusting for age, gender, smoking, HDL-C, physical activity, diabetes, blood pressure medications, and percent body fat composition, LLA users had significantly lower odds of elevated hs-CRP compared to LLA non-users (OR=0.58; 95% CI: 0.39–0.85). After adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, educational level, mean plaque index, and percent body fat, LLA users had significantly lower odds of high BOP compared to LLA non-users (OR= 0.62; 95% CI: 0.42–0.91).
Conclusions
Lipid-lowering agents may reduce both systemic and oral inflammatory responses.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.