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The purpose of this thesis was to assess the prevalence and management of established cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and the prevalence and influence of self-reported markers (number of teeth and frequency of gum bleeding) of periodontal disease (PD), a less explored CV risk factor, in patients with stable chronic coronary heart disease (CHD).

We studied patients from the global STabilization of Atherosclerotic plaque By Initiation of darapLadIb TherapY (STABILITY) trial (n=15,828), in which patients with stable chronic CHD were randomized to either darapladib or placebo. Our studies were performed using descriptive statistics and multivariable linear, logistic and Cox regression models.

The use of secondary preventive medications was generally high across the whole study population. Despite this, CV risk factors were highly prevalent, including obesity, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Achievement of guideline-recommended treatment targets was lacking and little improvement was seen throughout the study duration.

Approximately 40% of patients reported having <15 remaining teeth and 25% reported gum bleeding. More tooth loss was associated with a greater CV risk factor burden after adjustment, while the associations for gum bleeding were less evident.

After multivariable adjustment for CV risk factors and socioeconomic status, more tooth loss was associated with an increased risk of major adverse CV events (a composite of CV death, myocardial infarction and stroke), CV mortality, all-cause mortality and fatal or non-fatal stroke.

We found associations between a higher degree of tooth loss and elevated levels of several prognostic biomarkers known to reflect various pathophysiological mechanisms involved in CV morbidity and mortality. Most biomarkers had little attenuating effect on the relationship between tooth loss and outcomes in a multivariable model.

In conclusion, we found an inadequate CV risk factor control despite a high use of evidence-based pharmacological therapies, likely to explain some of the excess risk in CHD patients. Further, we demonstrated a high prevalence of PD markers, tooth loss in particular, that were associated with a wide range of established CV risk factors, prognostic biomarkers and outcomes. Collectively, these findings indicate that tooth loss may be a significant risk factor among patients with stable chronic CHD.