(Reuters Health) - People with severe gum disease may be at greater risk for cancer, a U.S. study suggests.
“What this report does is continue the support of the idea that gum disease is not just a matter of what happens to our teeth,” said Dr. Leonard Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.
Researchers performed dental exams on 7,466 individuals from Mississippi, Maryland, Minnesota and North Carolina and then monitored them for an average of 15 years. None of the participants had cancer at the start of the study.
Fifteen years later, individuals with severe gum disease on the dental exam had a 24 percent higher risk of developing any kind of cancer, and more than double the risk of lung cancer, compared to those with no or mild gum disease.
Odds of developing colorectal cancer were increased particularly for nonsmokers with severe gum disease, the researchers found.
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4 comments:
Come on folks - brush those teeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or tooth in some cases.
ONE DAY UNTIL TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the very reason that dental should be included in our health insurance. Same with vision. Your teeth and eyes are in the same body as the rest of your organs covered by medical. The only reason for them to be separate is for insurance companies to make more money.
842
That is the whole point. We make money from people who are too stupid to object. Geez
Another garbage study and media claim. Use some common sense folks. Correllation does not equate to causation. If you aren't taking care of your health enough to avoid gum disease, you are also likely making the bad health choices that lead to increased susceptibility to cancer.
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