Relationship of Salivary Occult Blood With General and Oral Health Status in Employees of a Japanese Department Store

Abstract

Background The Japanese Ministry of Health started screening for periodontal disease as part of senior health services in 1995. However, only a small number of workplaces conduct regular dental checkups in Japan. Therefore, the prevalence of periodontal disease and other oral health conditions has not been fully determined in workers in Japan. This study aimed to clarify the usefulness of a salivary occult blood test (SOBT) to assess periodontal disease, and to investigate the association of salivary occult blood with general and oral health in Japanese employees. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among department store workers in Hiroshima city. Subjects were 449 workers who received regular health checkups including dental examinations in 2018. An SOBT using monoclonal antibody against human hemoglobin was performed. Periodontal status was evaluated using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). We investigated the association of salivary occult blood with general and oral health in 338 employees (85 men, 253 women; mean age 41.4 years, range 19 - 69 years). Results Univariate analysis revealed a significant relationship between salivary occult blood and sex, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, CPI, daily brushing frequency, and number of untreated teeth (P = 0.034, P = 0.003, P = 0.022, P = 0.007, P = 0.004, and P = 0.015, respectively). Furthermore, BMI, diabetes, CPI, and brushing frequency were significantly associated with salivary occult blood in binomial logistic regression analysis (odds ratio 1.09, P = 0.014; odds ratio 9.38, P = 0.047; odds ratio 1.31, P = 0.004; and odds ratio 0.70, P = 0.045, respectively). These results suggest that positivity in the SOBT is importantly associated with periodontal disease and diabetes. Interestingly, subjects aged ≥ 35 years with metabolic syndrome exhibited a significantly higher positive rate of salivary occult blood than those without metabolic syndrome (P = 0.01). Conclusions The SOBT was a reliable screening method for periodontal disease, and positivity in the test was related to diabetes in Japanese employees. Further examinations are required to clarify the association of salivary occult blood with other systemic diseases.

Accuracy of a salivary examination kit for the screening of periodontal disease in a group medical check-up (Japanese-specific health check-up)

“…Subjects were asked to refrain from eating and drinking, brushing their teeth, or gargling for 2 hours prior to salivary tests because these factors may cause bleeding and affect the results obtained. [ 5 , 30 ]…”

“…In Japan, screening for periodontitis has been conducted as part of the health services for individuals aged 40 to 50 years by the Japanese Ministry of Health since 1995, and was extended to those aged 60 to 70 years in 2005. [ 5 ] However, the percentage of individuals undergoing screening is low.…”

“…Previous studies reported the clinical significance of simple and non-invasive screening methods using saliva to screen for periodontal disease. [ 5 , 24 – 28 ] In this study, the results of salivary screening tests and the dental examination were compared. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of screening methods using saliva in dental check-ups that may be included in the specific health check-up in the future.…”

Correlations between the properties of saliva and metabolic syndrome

“…Saliva tests are easy to conduct and non-invasive, and it has been reported that such tests can produce clinically significant information relating to both systemic and oral disease. [ 15 – 21 ] Many researchers have reported that saliva-based screening tests are useful for diagnosing periodontitis. [ 15 – 21 ] As stated above, periodontitis and MetS are closely related and influenced by the same common risk factors [ 22 ] .…”

“…[ 15 – 21 ] Many researchers have reported that saliva-based screening tests are useful for diagnosing periodontitis. [ 15 – 21 ] As stated above, periodontitis and MetS are closely related and influenced by the same common risk factors [ 22 ] . Previously, we reported the effectiveness of incorporating dental check-ups into health check-ups and detected a significant association between periodontitis and MetS.…”