Periodontitis associated with low Vitamin D if dark-skinned – Dec 2018

Serum Nutrient Levels and Aging Effects on Periodontitis.

Nutrients. 2018 Dec 15;10(12). pii: E1986. doi: 10.3390/nu10121986.

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Significant drop in Vitamin D levels for dark-skinned people with moderate Periodontitis

Ebersole JL1, Lambert J2, Bush H3, Huja PE4, Basu A5.

• 1 Dept of Biomedical Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 1001 Shadow Lane, B221, MS 7425, Las Vegas, NV 89106, USA. jeffrey.ebersole@unlv.edu.
• 2 College of Nursing, University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA. lambejw@ucmail.uc.edu.
• 3 Dept of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky; Lexington, KY 40536, USA. heather.bush@uky.edu.
• 4 Dept of Periodontics, School of Dentistry, Medical University of South Carolina; Charleston, SC 29425, USA. emecenh@musc.edu.
• 5 Dept of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV 89106, USA. arpita.basu@unlv.edu.

Periodontal disease damages tissues as a result of dysregulated host responses against the chronic bacterial biofilm insult and approximately 50% of US adults >30 years old exhibit periodontitis.
The association of five blood nutrients and periodontitis were evaluated due to our previous findings regarding a potential protective effect for these nutrients in periodontal disease derived from the US population sampled as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999⁻2004). Data from over 15,000 subjects was analyzed for blood levels of cis-β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, folate, vitamin D, and vitamin E, linked with analysis of the presence and severity of periodontitis. Moderate/severe disease patients had lower cis-β-carotene levels across all racial/ethnic groups and these decreased levels in moderate/severe periodontitis were exacerbated with age. β-cryptoxanthin demonstrated lower levels in severe disease patients across the entire age range in all racial/ethnic groups. Folate differences were evident across the various age groups with consistently lower levels in periodontitis patients >30 years and most pronounced in females.
Lower levels of vitamin D were consistently noted across the entire age range of patients with a greater difference seen in females with periodontitis. Finally, an analytical approach to identify interactions among these nutrients related to age and periodontitis showed interactions of vitamin D in females, and folate with race in the population. These findings suggest that improving specific nutrient intake leading to elevated blood levels of a combination of these protective factors may provide a novel strategy to affect the significant increase in periodontitis that occurs with aging.