Virus- Oral HPV Infection-Poor Oral Health
Poor Oral Health Linked to Cancer-Causing Oral HPV
Infection
Aug. 21, 2013 — Poor oral health, including gum disease and dental problems,
was found to be associated with oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which causes
about 40 percent to 80 percent of oropharyngeal cancers, according to
a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American
Association for Cancer
Research.
"Poor oral health is a new independent risk factor for oral HPV infection
and, to our knowledge, this is the first study to examine this
association," said Thanh Cong Bui,
Dr.P.H., postdoctoral research fellow in the School of
Public Health at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston.
"The good news is, this risk factor is
modifiable -- by maintaining good oral hygiene and good oral health,
one can prevent HPV infection and subsequent HPV-related cancers."
The researchers found that among the study
participants, those who reported poor oral health had a 56 percent higher prevalence of oral HPV infection,
and those who
had gum disease and dental problems had a 51 percent
and 28 percent higher prevalence of oral HPV infection, respectively. In
addition, the researchers were able to
associate oral HPV infections with number of teeth
lost.
Similar to genital HPV infection, oral HPV infection
can be of two kinds: infection with low-risk HPV types that do not cause cancer, but can cause a
variety of benign
tumors or warts
in the oral cavity, and infection with high-risk HPV types that can cause
oropharyngeal cancers.
Bui, Christine Markham, Ph.D., and colleagues used
data from the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES) conducted by the National Center
for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. This survey consisted of a nationally representative
sample of about 5,000 people recruited each
year, located in counties across the United States.
The researchers identified 3,439 participants aged 30
to 69 years from NHANES, for whom data on oral health and the presence or
absence of 19 low-risk HPV
types and
18 high-risk HPV types in the oral cavity were
available. Oral health data included four measures of oral health: self-rating
of overall oral health, presence of gum disease,
use of mouthwash to treat dental problems within past
seven days of the survey, and number of teeth lost. They examined data on age, gender, marital status,
marijuana
use, cigarette
smoking, and oral sex habits, among others, which influence HPV infection.
The researchers found that being male, smoking cigarettes, using marijuana,
and oral sex habits increased the likelihood of oral HPV infection. They
also found that self-
rated overall oral health was an independent risk
factor for oral HPV infection, because this association did not change
regardless of whether or not the participants
smoked or had
multiple oral sex partners.
Because HPV needs wounds in the mouth to enter and
infect the oral cavity, poor oral health, which may include ulcers, mucosal disruption, or
chronic inflammation, may
create an entry portal for HPV, said Bui. There is, however, currently not
enough evidence to support this, and further research is needed to understand
this relationship,
he said.
"Although more research is needed to confirm the causal relationship
between oral health and oral HPV infection, people may want to maintain good
oral health for a
variety of health benefits," said Bui. "Oral
hygiene is fundamental for oral health, so good oral hygiene practices should
become a personal habit."
Share this story on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment