Certain kinds of oral microbiota were associated with development of hypertension, researchers reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Among 245 bacterial species analyzed, 10 were positively associated with incident hypertension and five were negatively associated with it, according to the researchers.

Michael J. LaMonte

“Since periodontal disease and hypertension are especially prevalent in older adults, if a relationship between the oral bacteria and hypertension risk could be established, there may be an opportunity to enhance hypertension prevention through increased, targeted oral care,” Michael J. LaMonte, PhD, MPH, a research professor in epidemiology at the University at Buffalo – State University of New York and a co-investigator in the Women’s Health Initiative clinical center in the university’s epidemiology and environmental health department, said in a press release.

The cohort included 1,215 postmenopausal women (mean age at baseline, 63 years) from the Buffalo OsteoPerio study who had complete information on the oral subgingival plaque microbiome at baseline, had BP and hypertension status assessed at baseline and were followed annually for incident hypertension.

At baseline, 429 women were normotensive, defined as BP less than 120/80 mm Hg with no antihypertensive medication use; 306 had elevated BP, defined as BP at least 120/80 mm Hg with no antihypertensive medication use; and 480 had been diagnosed with hypertension and were treated with medications.

Among the 735 women with no hypertension diagnosis at baseline, incident hypertension occurred in 375 during a mean of 10.4 years of follow-up, according to the researchers.

In a cross-sectional analysis, LaMonte and colleagues found 47 of 245 bacterial species that varied by baseline BP status (P < .05 for all).

In a prospective analysis, 15 bacterial species were associated with incident hypertension (P < .05 for all). Of those, 10 were positively associated with incident hypertension (age-adjusted HRs per standard deviation, 1.1-1.16) and five were negative associated (age-adjusted HRs per standard deviation, 0.82-0.91), the researchers wrote.

The results did not vary according to age, smoking, BMI and baseline BP.

Willie Lawrence

“We have come to better appreciate that health is influenced by more than just the traditional risk factors we know to be so important. This paper is a provocative reminder of the need to expand our understanding of additional health factors that may even be influenced by our environments and potentially impact our biology at the endothelial level,” Willie Lawrence, MD, chair of the AHA’s National Hypertension Control Initiative’s Oversight Committee and chief of cardiology at Research Medical Center at HCA Midwest Health in Kansas City, Missouri, said in the release. “Inclusive research on hypertension must continue to be a priority to better understand and address the condition.”