Abstract
Although tooth loss is a serious health problem for elderly people, little is known about the genetic basis for susceptibility to it. In the present study we aimed to find a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with tooth loss. DNA samples from 119 outpatients (mean age=78.8 years) were genotyped on seven polymorphisms (tumor necrosis factor‐α −1031T/C, interleukin‐1β −511C/T, interleukin‐6 −634C/G, macrophage migration inhibitory factor −173G/C, interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist variable number of tandem repeat in intron 2, matrix metalloproteinase‐1 −16071G/2G, and oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) Ser326Cys (1245C/G)), and the results were statistically evaluated. Of the seven polymorphisms tested, only OGG1 Ser326Cys was revealed to associate with tooth loss at a statistically significant level (P=0.0086). In addition, a multivariate logistic regression analysis in which age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and ischemic heart disease were included as independent variables indicated that Ser326Cys could be an independent factor affecting tooth loss (OR, 3.191; 95%CI, 1.174−8.672). The data suggest that the OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism may be associated with tooth loss. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 20:47–51, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.