Before Using Drugs to Prevent Heart Disease, Try Better Oral Health
In a Boston University/University of Helsinki collaboration, the oral enzyme salivary lysozyme (SLZ) was proven a stronger marker of metabolic syndrome in people with heart disease than C-reactive protein (CRP), which doctors currently look at before prescribing preventive heart disease drugs. Metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for heart disease.
“This indirectly suggests that improving oral health may be a prudent approach before dispensing expensive medicines such as statins,” says Research Associate Professor at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Dr. Sok-Ja Janket “but we need to look at changes in metabolic syndrome markers with dental treatment in a clinical trial.”
SLZ was significantly associated with metabolic syndrome, even after the effect of the systemic inflammation marker CRP was controlled.
SLZ was associated with an even earlier stage of heart disease than hypertension, another risk factor for heart disease.
“In other words, SLZ is a marker for heart disease very early on,” Dr. Janket says.
Metabolic syndrome, also called Syndrome X, is characterized by three of five criteria:
- abdominal obesity
- elevated fasting glucose level or having diabetes
- high triglyceride level
- low HDL level
- high blood pressure
Dr. Janket was supported by the American Heart Association and Drs. Judith Jones, Raul Garcia, and Thomas Van Dyke co-authored the article. The first author, Dr. Qvarnstrom, is a PhD candidate at the University of Helsinki, whom Dr. Janket is mentoring.
Read an abstract of the study, “Association of Salivary Lysozyme and C-reactive Protein With Metabolic Syndrome,” here.