Edentulism tied to greater risk for high BP after menopause

(HealthDay)—Postmenopausal women with edentulism are at an increased risk for developing hypertension, according to a study published online Dec. 4 in the American Journal of Hypertension.

Joshua H. Gordon, from the State University of New York in Buffalo, and colleagues evaluated the association of baseline self-reported periodontal disease and edentulism with incident hypertension among 36,692 postmenopausal women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative-Observational Study (mean follow-up, 8.3 years).

The researchers found that edentulism was significantly associated with incident hypertension in both crude and adjusted analyses (hazard ratio, 1.38 and 1.21, respectively). Stronger associations were seen among younger women (<60 years) and among those with normal blood pressure (<120 mm Hg systolic blood pressure). There was no association between periodontal disease and hypertension.

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