Relationship between periodontal status and physical fitness in an elderly population of nonsmokers in Bangladesh

Older persons with poor physical fitness areat risk of oral disease, because physical disability may affect their ability to maintain good oral hygiene and restrict theiraccess to dental treatment.1 In addition, inflammation hasbeen suggested to be a risk factor for loss of muscle massand strength in people aged 80 and older.2 Therefore, it ispossible that oral inflammatory diseases such as periodontaldisease can exert some influence on muscle strength of the extremities. Associations between poor periodontal healthand physical fitness in elderly adults are limited.1,3,4 Lowlevels of physical fitness have been shown to be associatedwith periodontal disease.4 The subjects in that study werevoluntary middle-aged participants in an advanced courseof medical examinations, who therefore might be morehealth conscious than general patients. Furthermore, only 10 index teeth were examined using the Community PeriodontalIndex for Treatment Needs scoring method, whichdoes not always represent actual periodontal destruction.Nevertheless, there has been no report on the associationbetween periodontal health condition and physical fitnessmeasurements in an elderly population in Bangladesh,where more than 7 million people (5.1%) are aged 60 and older.5 The aim of the present study was to evaluate therelationships between periodontal health and handgripstrength and one-leg standing time in elderly nonsmokersin Bangladesh.