Soft drink consumption and periodontal status in pregnant women

Periodontal disease is associated with metabolic syndrome, and during pregnancy, it is linked to preeclampsia and preterm birth. We hypothesized that soft drink consumption, which has also been associated with metabolic disorders, may also be linked to periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between soft drink consumption and periodontal status in pregnancy.

This was a cross-sectional study nested in BRISA (Brazilian Ribeirão Preto and São Luís Birth Cohort Studies). Pregnant women (n = 1,185) completed a questionnaire and underwent periodontal examination from the 22^nd to 25^th week of pregnancy. The explanatory variable was the frequency of soft drink consumption (times per week). The outcome was periodontal status measured as the number of teeth with probing depth ≥4 mm with bleeding on probing (PD/BOP) or with clinical attachment level ≥4 mm (CAL). Means ratio (MR) was estimated using zero-inflated Poisson, adjusted for maternal age and income.

The higher tertile of consumption of soft drinks during pregnancy was associated with PD/BOP (MR = 1.34; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03 to 1.75); while the highest tertile of diastolic blood pressure was also associated to CAL (MR = 1.21; 95% CI 1:07 to 1.35).

High soft drink consumption was associated with the number of teeth with PD/BOP in pregnant women, suggesting that beverage consumption is a factor that contributes to the systemic inflammatory burden, which is common to periodontal disease, metabolic syndrome, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.