Comparative study of body mass index and periodontal status of smokers and non smokers in Malaysia
2nd International Conference and Exhibition on Dental & Oral Health
April 21-23, 2014 Crown Plaza Dubai, UAE

Shelly Arora

Accepted Abstracts: Oral Health Dent Manag

Abstract:

Cigarette smoking is considered as a major risk factor for leading cause of death worldwide. Developing countries comprised of 73% of the world?s smoking population and these countries are at a higher risk of health, economic and social impacts of smoking-related diseases. Smoking-related diseases have been the primary cause of mortality for the past three decades in Malaysia. Literature indicates that smoking and body weight are related to each other. General agreement is cigarette smoking has an inverse association with body mass index(BMI) or body weight and smoking cessation has also been linked to weight gain. Recent data have shown that obesity or weight gain is also associated with oral diseases, particularly periodontitis. It has been suggested that the adipose tissue secretes various cytokines and hormones that are involved in inflammatory processes, thus indicating that similar pathways are involved in the pathophysiology of obesity and periodontitis. It has been suggested that obesity is second only to smoking as the strongest risk factor for inflammatory periodontal tissue destruction. Nevertheless, cigarette smoking also leads to increased incidence of periodontal disease. However, the studies already published shows bundle of inequality for this association. There appears to be inadequate substantiation to support a constant association between smoking and periodontal diseases and BMI. An attempt is being made in this study to overcome the disparities encountered in the literature and to highlight the important aspects that are being neglected. The current study researches the effect of cigarette smoke on body mass index, oral health and periodontal status. Study also evaluates the correlation between these variables/parameters.