Association between maternal periodontitis and an increased risk of preeclampsia

Periodontal disease has been considered a systemic exposure implicated in a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The aim of the present study was to determine whether maternal periodontitis is associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.

A case-control study was conducted in a public hospital in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. During the study period, 588 women, aged 14 to 46 years, were deemed eligible and had data available for analysis. Maternal demographic and medical data were collected from medical records. Preeclampsia was defined as blood pressure >140/90 mm Hg and > or =1+ proteinuria after 20 weeks of gestation. A periodontal examination was performed postpartum. Maternal periodontitis was defined as the presence of four or more teeth with one or more sites with a probing depth > or =4 mm and clinical attachment loss > or =3 mm at the same site. The effects of maternal age, chronic hypertension, primiparity, smoking, alcohol use, and number of prenatal visits were analyzed. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for preeclampsia were calculated using multivariate logistic regression.

The prevalence of periodontitis was 63.9% and preeclampsia was 18.5%. Variables associated with preeclampsia were chronic hypertension (OR = 4.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.0 to 8.4; P = 0.001), primiparity (OR = 2.40; 95% CI = 1.5 to 3.9; P = 0.004), maternal age (OR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.0 to 1.1; P = 0.001), and maternal periodontitis (OR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.1 to 3.0; P = 0.001).

Maternal periodontitis was determined to be associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia.