Adults with gum, or periodontal, disease may be at greater ischemic stroke risk, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2017.

Researchers assessed 6,711 adults, who had not had a stroke, for periodontal disease and categorized the adults according to whether they had mild, moderate or severe periodontal disease. They followed patients for 15 years for the incidence of stroke, also documenting the stroke subtype based on cause.

Participants with mild periodontal disease were 1.9 times more likely to have an ischemic stroke than those without periodontal disease. Those with moderate periodontal disease had 2.1 times higher ischemic stroke risk and adults with severe gum disease were 2.2 times more likely to suffer an ischemic stroke than those who had no periodontal disease.

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