Body Composition and Severe Periodontitis

Objective: Evidence has been published suggesting an association between obesity and periodontal disease; two chronic diseases with multiple factors implicated in their onset and progression. The aim of this analysis was to investigate the association between body composition and periodontal disease in a sample of patients with severe periodontitis.

Methods: 333 subjects ≥ 18 years old diagnosed with severe periodontitis (defined as probing pocket depths of >6 mm and marginal alveolar bone loss of >30% with >50% of the teeth affected) were included. Extent and severity of periodontitis were based on probing pocket depths as assessed by two calibrated examiners. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were used to estimate the association between body composition, assessed by body mass index (BMI) and periodontitis while controlling for age (on a logarithmic scale) , disease classification (aggressive or chronic), smoking (smoker or non-smoker), full mouth plaque scores and full mouth bleeding scores.

Results: The multiple regression models indicated that each of the explanatory covariates listed above were statistically significant independent predictors of full mouth mean probing pocket depth. BMI had a small but statistically significant linear relationship with full mouth mean probing depth (P=0.029), but not with percentage of sites with probing pocket depth >4mm (P=0.159).

Conclusions: Body composition was independently associated with severity of periodontitis as measured by probing pocket depth in this severe periodontitis sample. However the magnitude of the association with probing pocket depth is small and the clinical relevance remains unclear.