Chromosomal Instability and Periodontal Disease in Idiopathic Infertility: Evidence of a Possible Association

Chromosomal instability (CIN) may underlie a subset of idiopathic infertility, and chronic periodontitis could contribute to genomic fragility. We tested whether periodontal status is associated with cytogenetic instability in adults with idiopathic infertility.

This was a cross-sectional study of 60 adults aged 20-40 years, comprising idiopathic infertility (n = 30) and fertile controls (n = 30), each with 18 women and 12 men. Significant exclusions included systemic inflammatory disease, pregnancy/lactation, recent antibiotics/NSAIDs, and periodontal therapy within 6 months. Periodontal examination recorded probing depth (PD), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Cytogenetic testing used mitomycin C-induced chromosomal breakage to derive the Breakage Index (BI); CIN was defined as BI ≥ 4.0. Analyses compared infertile with CIN (n = 19), infertile without CIN (n = 11), and controls (n = 30).

Infertile participants with CIN had a higher periodontitis burden compared to infertile participants without CIN and to controls (moderate-severe: 89.5% vs. 54.5% vs. 26.7%); mean BI also differed (5.2 ± 0.9 vs. 1.3 ± 0.5 vs. 0.4 ± 0.2). Periodontal measures followed the same gradient, with greater CAL and PD in CIN-positive infertility.

In idiopathic infertility, CIN was cross-sectionally associated with more severe periodontitis, and the BI correlated with CAL, PD, and BOP. Causality cannot be inferred and residual confounding cannot be excluded. Periodontal screening is a feasible adjunct that may help identify a modifiable inflammatory burden; prospective and interventional studies are warranted.