Periodontal disease increases the risk of severe pre‐eclampsia among pregnant women

Abstract

To evaluate the possible link between the severity of periodontal disease and pre-eclampsia and to correlate this link to clinical periodontal parameters and interleukin (IL)-1beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and prostaglandins (PGE(2)) levels in both gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum. Fifty-nine pregnant women (20 mild pre-eclampsia, 18 severe pre-eclampsia, and 21 healthy pregnant women) were included in the study. Dental and periodontal recordings as well as GCF and blood samples were obtained within 48 h preceding delivery. The results of multivariate logistic regression showed a highly significant association between mild to severe pre-eclampsia and severe periodontal disease (p<0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders (smoking, body weight, socioeconomic status, education level, and age), severe pre-eclamptic women were 3.78 (1.77-12.74) times more likely to present severe periodontal disease than normotensive pregnant women. This odds ratio (OR) was 2.43 (1.13-8.19) for mild pre-eclamptic women. IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, and PGE(2) levels in both serum and GCF were also significantly higher in the pre-eclamptic groups than the normotensive women. These results indicate that the presence and severity of periodontal disease seems to increase the risk for not only the occurrence but also the severity of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.