Relationship between metabolic syndrome and chronic periodontitis

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a common disorder which is characterized by abdominal obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and hyperglycemia that might lead to periodontitis by suppressing the immune system. Due to the availability of a limited number of studies and discrepancies in the results of previous studies, this study was undertaken to assess the association of MS and chronic periodontitis. In this case‒control study, 32 patient with MS and 32 systemically healthy adults (age >25 years) were selected for the case and control groups, respectively, from those referring to the Dental Clinic of Azad Dental School of Isfahan (Khorasgan) and the Clinic of Medical School of Isfahan (Imam Mousa Sadr). The subjects underwent periodontal examinations, including pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL) and bleeding index (BI). The number of missing teeth was recorded in each subject. Independent t-test was used to analyze data (α<0.05). Average PD, CAL, BI and missing teeth were significantly higher among patient with MS compared to healthy adults in both genders (p value < 0.001). Of all the components of MS abdominal obesity was significantly associated with periodontal parameters. Patients with MS had poor periodontal status and MS might result in a higher incidence of chronic periodontitis similar to other inflammatory conditions.