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Published on: October 27, 2023
Identification of the different salivary Interleukin-6 profiles in patients with periodontitis: A cross-sectional
Gaetano Isola1, Antonino Lo Giudice1, Alessandro Polizzi1
1Department of General Surgery and Surgical-Medical Specialties, School of Dentistry, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to analyze and identify the association among salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and periodontitis (PT) and to determine the significant trend of this association in PT patients.
Study Design:
For the present study, 49 patients with PT and 47 healthy subjects (HS) were enrolled and assessed for clinical parameters, blood samples and salivary IL-6 analyses. Clinical differences among groups were recorded and evaluated. The Spearman Correlation and the Jonckheere-Terpstra Test were applied in order to assess the interdependence between salivary IL-6 and PT.
Results:
Patients in the PT group had significantly higher median salivary IL-6 levels [195.4 (184.6-205.9 pg/mL)] compared to the HS group [101.9 (89.5-115.4 pg/mL) (p < 0.001). Salivary IL-6 levels were negatively correlated with C-reactive protein, with the number of teeth and with clinical attachment loss (CAL), probing pocket depth (PPD), and bleeding sites (FMBS) (p < 0.001). Furthermore, in patients with PT, salivary IL-6 levels were inversely associated (P-trend) with the number of teeth (p < 0.001), and directly associated with the proportional extent of PT (CAL, p = 0.006; PPD, p = 0.009; FMBS, p < 0.001).
Conclusions:
The results of this study showed that PT patients presented significant higher salivary IL-6 levels compared to HS. Moreover, in the analyzed sample a significant p-trend among PT, tooth loss and increased salivary IL-6 levels was found.

