Background To investigate the periodontal disease status in a multi-center
cross-sectional study in Germany. Associations of dental, socio-economic,
blood and biomedical variables with periodontal outcome parameters were
evaluated. Methods From 4 different centers N = 311 persons were included,
drawn randomly from the registration offices. Maximal pocket depth (PD) was
used as primary indicator for periodontitis. It was classified as: no/mild ≤3
mm, moderate 4-5 mm, severe ≥6 mm. Associations between socioeconomic
(household income, education), lifestyle, and biomedical factors and PD or
bleeding on probing (BOP) per site (“Yes”/”No”) was analyzed with logistic
regression analysis. Results Mean age of subjects was 46.4 (range 20–77)
years. A significantly higher risk of deeper pockets for smokers (OR = 2.4,
current vs. never smoker) or persons with higher BMI (OR = 1.6, BMI increase
by 5) was found. Severity of periodontitis was significantly associated with
caries lesions (p = 0.01), bridges (p < .0001), crowns (p < .0001), leukocytes
(p = 0.04), HbA1c (p < .0001) and MCV (p = 0.04). PD was positively correlated
with BOP. No significant associations with BOP were found in regression
analysis. Conclusions Earlier findings for BMI and smoking with severity of PD
were confirmed. Dental variables might be influenced by potential confounding
factors e.g. dental hygiene. For blood parameters interactions with unknown
systemic diseases may exist