RESISTANT ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION AND ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IN HYPERTENSIVE RENAL TRANSPLANTATION RECIPIENTS SUFFERING FROM PERIODONTITIS

Abstract

Abstract Objective: Previous studies showed a positive correlation between periodontitis, a chronic inflammation of gingival tissue, and arterial hypertension (AH), which is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of resistant AH (RAH) and difference in parameters of arterial stiffness, blood pressure and body composition among hypertensive RTCs with periodontitis with special focus on RAH. Design and method: A comprehensive medical and periodontal examination was performed and for each RTR data was collected on various biochemistry and anthropometry. To measure arterial pressure (both peripheral and central, systolic and diastolic) and parameters of arterial stiffness (pulse wave velocity (PWV) and augmentation Index (AIx)) Agedio B900 device was used. Tanita MC780 Multi Frequency segmental body composition analyser was used to measure content of body fat, muscle mass and visceral fat each study subject. Oral periodontal status included full mouth plaque score (FMPS), full mouth bleeding score (FMBS), periodontal probing depth (PPD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL), all measured at six sites of each tooth. Results: Out of 55 RTRs suffering from periodontitis, 45 (82%) had AH, out of which 31 (69%) had resistant AH (RAH). Those RTRs with periodontitis and RAH have statistically higher value of glucose (P = 0.007), PWV (P = 0.008) and AIx (P = 0.050). Two groups of patients did not show any statistically significant difference in other measured parameters (e.g. body composition and blood pressure parameters, etc.). Conclusions: Our study showed high incidence of RAH among hypertensive RTRs suffering from periodontitis. Also those patients with RAH had higher arterial stiffness. Results are suggesting that this patient population is especially vulnerable, which could lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Further studies are required to infer causality between periodontitis and AH.