The presence of a good mouth bacterium, Eichenelkla corrodens (which is associated with good oral health), could halve the risk of heart attack and stroke.
This was revealed by a study published in the journal Clinical Periodontology by experts from the Department of Periodontology of the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
Several studies have identified periodontitis - gum disease which, if left untreated, leads to tooth loss - as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In this study we wanted to evaluate whether the individual composition of the bacteria present in the oral cavity could somehow condition the person's cardiovascular risk.
The German periodontologists followed the health status of over 1000 individuals for an average of 3 years, carrying out the analysis of the bacterial composition of each person's oral cavity.
In this way they saw that the presence or scarcity / absence of the E. corrodens strain in an individual's mouth is a predictor of his risk of heart attack and stroke. In particular, a decrease in the concentration of E. corrodens is associated with a greater risk of heart attack and stroke. The presence of E. corrodens is associated with a halved risk.
Although the pathological mechanism possibly underlying this association is to be discovered, the study suggests that the analysis of the microbiota of the mouth may be useful for prognostic purposes in subjects already at cardiovascular risk (to establish the future risk of heart attack and stroke of the cardiovascular patient).
"This article highlights an interesting correlation between the oral microbiome and cardiovascular risk - underlines in an interview with ANSA Cristiano Tomasi of the University of Gothenburg and a member of the Italian Society of Periodontology and Implantology. The bacterium 'protagonist' in this work is usually an indication of periodontal health, and therefore its decrease in percentage in the mouth indicates a microbial population more displaced on the 'pathogenic' side, "continues Tomasi. "That the decline in concentration of this good bacterium can become an indicator of cardiovascular risk poses many questions and opens up many possibilities for future research on the correlation between periodontal disease and cardiovascular risk," concludes the expert. (ANSA).
Good mouth bacterium halves the risk of heart attack and stroke
2020-01-14T09:05:38.517Z
The presence of a good mouth bacterium, Eichenelkla corrodens (which is associated with good oral health), could halve the risk of heart attack and stroke. (HANDLE)