Correlation between periodontal disease, inflammatory alterations and pre-eclampsia

Politano GT, Passini R, Nomura ML, Velloso L, Morari J, Couto E. Correlation between periodontal disease, inflammatory alterations and pre‐eclampsia. J Periodont Res 2011; 46: 505–511. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S Background and Objective: Several studies have hypothesized that periodontal disease may increase the risk of pre‐eclampsia. The correlation between the two diseases would probably be based on hypertension‐related cytokine release in the local periodontal environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between periodontal disease and pre‐eclampsia, and the correlation of the two conditions with interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumor necrosis factor‐α(TNFα) mRNA expression. Material and Methods: A case–control analysis of 116 pregnant women, 58 with pre‐eclampsia (cases) and 58 normotensive pregnant women (controls) was performed. In addition to collection of socio‐demographic data and periodontal evaluation, peripheral blood samples were collected for laboratory analysis of IL‐6 and TNFα mRNA expression by real‐time PCR. Results: There was an association between periodontitis and pre‐eclampsia (adjusted odds ratio 3.73; 95% confidence interval 1.32–10.58). Increased TNFα mRNA expression was observed in pre‐eclamptic women; however, there was no correlation between periodontitis and systemic cytokine expression. In the case group, systemic cytokine mRNA levels were similar in pregnant women with and without periodontitis (means ± SD): 0.73 ± 0.24 vs. 0.82 ± 0.38 for TNFα and 1.31 ± 1.49 vs. 1.09 ± 0.74 for IL‐6, respectively. Conclusion: Periodontitis was clinically related to pre‐eclampsia; however, the supposed mechanism that correlates the two diseases, i.e. a systemic inflammatory process involving cytokines TNFα and IL‐6 in the presence of periodontal disease, could not be confirmed in this study.