# Osteoarthritis, bronchial asthma, and periodontitis: is there a mutual influence? A 5-year case–control study

## TL;DR

A study found no significant link between osteoarthritis, bronchial asthma, and periodontitis progression over five years in patients receiving periodontal care.

## Contribution

This is the first 5-year case–control study to examine the mutual influence of osteoarthritis and bronchial asthma on periodontitis progression.

## Key findings

- Baseline periodontal pockets ≥5 mm were higher in the healthy group compared to others, but differences vanished after adjusting for confounders.
- Tooth loss due to periodontitis was not significantly different among groups during follow-up.
- OA and BAOA patients showed a trend toward fewer invasive treatments, but results were not statistically significant.

## Abstract

To investigate the influence of osteoarthritis (OA), bronchial asthma (BA), and the concomitant presence of both conditions on the progression of periodontitis over a five-year follow-up in patients under periodontal maintenance care.

This case–control longitudinal cohort study analyzed 276 patients divided into four age- and gender-matched groups. Healthy (no OA, no BA), OA, BA, and BAOA (both conditions), with 69 patients in each group. Baseline periodontal parameters, tooth loss due to periodontitis, number of deep pockets (≥ 5 mm), and additional treatment needs were assessed and compared across groups over a mean follow-up duration of 6.5 ± 2.2 years.

At baseline, the Healthy group exhibited significantly more periodontal pockets ≥ 5 mm (11.4 ± 13.1) compared to the OA (4.6 ± 11.0), BA (2.8 ± 5.1), and BAOA (3.9 ± 7.6) groups (p < 0.001). However, this difference was not significant after adjusting for confounders (p = 0.715). Tooth loss due to periodontitis during follow-up was also not significantly different among groups (p = 0.169). The need for invasive treatments was lower in OA and BAOA patients compared to Healthy patients, but this trend did not reach statistical significance (OR = 0.39, p = 0.063 for OA; OR = 0.44, p = 0.092 for BAOA).

The presence of OA and/or BA does not appear to significantly influence the progression of periodontitis when controlling for confounding variables in a maintained patient population.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-025-07086-9.