Influence of non-surgical periodontal treatment on the quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with chronic periodontitis

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effects of periodontal therapy on the quality of life in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with chronic periodontitis (CP). Methods: In a randomized controlled pilot study, 60 COPD patients with CP were randomly assigned into three groups to receive scaling and root planing (SRP) treatment, supragingival scaling treatment and oral hygiene instructions only with no periodontal treatment, respectively. The scores of each patient's quality of life at baseline, 1 year and 2 years, respectively, were evaluated by using the standardized St George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ). The SGRQ was composed of three dimensions: symptoms, activity, and impact. A score was calculated for each section and a total summary score was also calculated. A high score indicated poor health and a decrease in the score indicates an improvement in quality of life. Results: There were no statistically significant differences among the three groups for age, gender, body mass index, smoking status, lung funtion, periodontal parameters and the SGRQ scores (including total, symptoms, activity and impacts scores) among three groups at baseline (all P>0.05). The SGRQ scores were all significantly correlated with major lung function parameters (r=-0.54 --0.28). The result of ANCOVA analysis adjusted for the influence of baseline measurements showed that the total scores of two periodontal treatment groups were significantly lower (P=0.01) than that of control group at 2-year follow-up (SRP group: 31.1±12.1; scaling group: 28.9±9.8; control group: 46.5±24.9). The symptoms score of SRP group (45.4±19.7) was significantly lower (P=0.03) than that of control group (53.6±25.4) at 2-year follow-up. The impacts scores of two treatment groups were significantly lower (P=0.02) than that of control group at 2-year follow-up (SRP group: 15.2±8.3; scaling group: 14.9±7.7; control group: 34.8±18.8). Conclusions: Our preliminary results from this study suggest that non-surgical periodontal treatment in COPD patients with CP might improve the quality of life of the COPD patient.