Oral contraceptives and periodontal diseases: rethinking the association based upon analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data.

BACKGROUND

Historic evidence suggests that use of high-dose combined oral contraceptives (OCs) (containing >50 microg of estrogen and>or=1mg progestin) places women at increased risk for periodontal diseases. Since the mid-1970s, OC formulations have dramatically changed. This study investigated the association between OC use and periodontal diseases among 4,930 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) I and 5,001 NHANES III premenopausal U.S. women, aged 17 to 50 years, before and after the reduction of hormone levels in OCs.

METHODS

Data for this cross-sectional study came from the first (NHANES I, 1971 to 1974) and third (NHANES III, 1988 to 1994) NHANES studies.

RESULTS

The prevalence of OC use in the U.S. premenopausal female population in NHANES I was 22% and in NHANES III, 20%. Using multivariable logistic regression, a protective association between current OC use and gingivitis was suggestive but not significant in both NHANES I (odds ratio [OR]=0.65; 95% con- fidence interval [CI]: 0.42 to 1.01) and NHANES III (OR=0.80; 95% CI: 0.61 to 1.02) surveys. Current OC use was also associated with a decreased risk of periodontal disease in NHANES I (OR=0.36; 95% CI: 0.13 to 0.96) and a non-significant association in NHANES III (OR=0.73; 95% CI: 0.50 to 1.07).

CONCLUSION

This analysis failed to validate the theory that earlier high- or current low-dose OC use is associated with increased levels of gingivitis or periodontitis and suggests an important reexamination of the perceived association between OC use and periodontal diseases.