Association between bone turnover markers and periodontitis: A population-based cross-sectional study.

Area of Science:

• Oral Health
• Biochemistry
• Periodontology

Background:

• Periodontitis is a common inflammatory disease affecting tooth-supporting structures.
• Bone turnover markers are potential indicators of systemic bone metabolism.
• Understanding the relationship between bone metabolism and periodontitis is crucial for disease management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the associations between specific bone turnover markers and periodontitis in population-based samples.
• To investigate potential links between markers like P1NP, BAP, WNT5A, and sclerostin with periodontitis severity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from two independent adult samples (N=4993) from the Study of Health in Pomerania.
• Analyzed cross-sectional associations of N-procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), WNT5A, and sclerostin with periodontitis measures.
• Employed confounder-adjusted gamma and fractional response regression models.

Main Results:

• Positive associations were observed between P1NP and increased pocket probing depth (PPD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP).
• Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) showed positive associations with BOP, proportion of sites with PPD ≥4mm (%PPD4).
• WNT5A was inversely associated with mean PPD and %PPD4, while sclerostin showed a positive association with %BOP.

Conclusions:

• The study found scattered and sometimes contradictory associations between bone turnover markers (P1NP, BAP, WNT5A, sclerostin) and periodontitis.
• The observed associations do not consistently confirm findings reported in previous research.
• Further investigation is needed to clarify the complex relationship between bone metabolism and periodontal disease.