Association of tooth loss with liver cancer incidence and chronic liver disease mortality in a rural Chinese population

Background Tooth loss has been reported to be associated with the risk of liver cancer in several prior studies in economically advantaged countries. Whether this relationship is also evident in economically disadvantaged populations is not known. Methods We analyzed data from the Nutrition Intervention Trials, two randomized placebo-controlled trials of vitamin/mineral supplementation in Linxian, China. Participants who reported having lost permanent teeth were examined to determine the number of teeth remaining. In the 30-year follow-up period, 329 liver cancers were diagnosed and 368 chronic liver disease deaths occurred. Tooth loss was categorized based on loess smoothed age-specific predicted quartiles. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the two outcomes. Results Overall, persons in the highest quartile of age-specific tooth loss had an increased risk of liver cancer (HR = 1.27, 95%CI: 0.96, 1.67) which was not statistically significant. Results varied by sex and body mass index (BMI), however. Women in the highest quartile of age-specific tooth loss had a significantly increased risk (HR = 1.64, 95%CI: 1.04, 2.59), while men did not (HR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.75, 1.57), and persons with a BMI > 23.0 kg/m ² (HR = 1.71, 95%CI: 1.00, 2.92) had a significantly increased risk, while persons with a BMI <23.0 kg/m ² did not (HR = 1.14, 95%CI: 0.82, 1.5). No relationships with chronic liver disease mortality were observed. Conclusions In a rural, economically disadvantaged population, persons with the highest levels of age-specific tooth loss had an increased risk of liver cancer. The results, which were stronger among women and persons with greater BMI, suggest that periodontal disease may increase risk of liver cancer.