Association of periodontitis with increased white blood cell count and blood pressure

This study aimed to examine the association of periodontitis with white blood cell (WBC) count and blood pressure (BP). In 2002, 424 subjects (manufacturing workers) were investigated for periodontitis by a general dentist. All were Japanese. Among them, 364 subjects (269 men and 95 women) who also attended the next year's (2003) screening were enrolled for this study. Of the 364 subjects, 55 (15.1%) had periodontitis. We also measured the BP and WBC count in periodontitis and non-periodontitis subjects at baseline and 1-year later follow-up. The WBC count was higher in subjects with periodontitis than in subjects without periodontitis, both at baseline [mean±standard error (SE) 6.6×103±0.2×103 ml vs 5.8±0.3×103 ml; p