Abstract

PERIODONTITIS AS A RISK FACTOR FOR SYSTEMIC DISEASES; A CASE CONTROL STUDY

Dr. Tahira Ashraf*, Dr. Abhima Kumar, Dr. Suhail Jan, Dr. Roobal Behal, Zahoor Ahmad

Abstract

Introduction: Severe periodontitis has been associated with increased systemic inflammation. In contrary to previous thought that periodontitis is localized only to the marginal periodontium and that it rarely had systemic implications in healthy individuals, more recent evidence indicated that patients with periodontitis present with increased systemic inflammation, as indicated by raised serum levels of various inflammatory markers when compared with those in unaffected control populations, predisposing a person to metabolic syndrome which is a combination of risk factors that significantly contribute to the development of atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. Aims and objectives: To compare various systemic parameters like lipid and blood glucose levels in periodontitis patients compared to healthy controls. Materials and methods: 25 subjects with healthy periodontium (Group A) that is control group was compared to 25 subjects with chronic generalized periodontitis (Group B) that is patients for the systemic parameters that is lipid and blood glucose levels. Data was analysed by Paired t-test. A Pvalue of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In Group B a statistically significant increase in parameters was found as compared to Group A that is control group. Conclusions: To conclude, periodontitis is a risk factor for systemic diseases and if left uncontrolled and untreated would lead to actual disease process.

Keywords: Periodontitis, inflammation, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders.