Subgingival microbial profile of obese women with periodontal disease

This study compared the composition of subgingival microbiota between obese and non-obese women with or without periodontal disease.

Full-mouth periodontal clinical assessments were carried out in 76 obese women (17 periodontally healthy and 59 with periodontal disease), and 34 non-obese women (12 periodontally healthy, 22 with periodontal disease). Subgingival biofilm samples were individually obtained from seven sites of each individual, and the prevalence and counts of 40 bacterial taxa were determined by the checkerboard method. The frequency and counts of each species were computed for each individual and across the groups. Differences among and between groups were sought by the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests, respectively. Possible correlations between obesity and clinical and microbiologic parameters were tested with Spearman correlation coefficient.

Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus oralis, and Capnocytophaga ochracea were found in significantly higher levels in obese compared with non-obese women (P < 0.01). In patients with periodontal health, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Leptotrichia buccalis were detected in higher mean frequency and/or counts in obese women than in non-obese women, whereas in patients with periodontal disease, obese women harbored greater levels of C. ochracea than non-obese women (P < 0.01). Moreover, obese women with periodontal disease presented significantly greater mean counts of P. gingivalis and Tannerella forsythia than non-obese women with periodontal health (P < 0.01). When the conditions obesity and periodontal disease are present at the same time, significant positive correlations were detected with C. ocharcea, P. gingivalis, S. sanguinis, and T. forsythia.

Few differences in the composition of the subgingival microbiota of obese and non-obese women with periodontal health or disease were found. However, a high prevalence of P. gingivalis in obese women with periodontal health was observed.