Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, GH Sergievsky Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| [b] Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: James M. Noble, MD, MS, CPH, FAAN, The Neurological Institute of New York, 710W. 168th St, Box 176, New York, NY 10032, USA. Tel.: +1 212 305 4126; Fax: +1 212 305 1145; E-mail: jn2054@columbia.edu.
Abstract: Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory, bacterially-driven disease of the tooth-supporting tissues that shares several risk factors and elements of host response with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). Epidemiological studies have identified relatively consistent associations between adverse oral health conditions and ADRD. In this issue of the journal, a large study from the UK Biobank further explores these relationships along with MRI cognitive biomarkers. Despite its strength due to the large sample size, challenges in the study of periodontitis and neuroepidemiology markers include potential sampling bias, appropriate assessment of exposures, and the possibility of reverse causality.
