Is Periodontal Inflammation Associated with Liver Cirrhosis? A Cross-Sectional Study

Area of Science:

• Oral Health
• Hepatology
• Systemic Diseases

Background:

• Periodontitis is increasingly recognized for its association with systemic non-communicable diseases.
• Hepatic diseases, including liver cirrhosis (LC), have been linked to oral health conditions.
• Investigating the periodontal status in patients with LC is crucial for understanding disease comorbidities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the association between periodontal health status and liver cirrhosis (LC).
• To evaluate clinical periodontal parameters in patients with and without LC.
• To identify predictors of LC, including periodontal factors.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 100 patients (50 LC cases, 50 controls) from internal medicine.
• Assessed periodontal health using bleeding on probing (BoP), probing pocket depth (PPD), gingival recession (GR), clinical attachment level (CAL), and Periodontal Inflamed Surface Area (PISA) score.
• Utilized stepwise logistic regression to identify predictors of LC, incorporating periodontal status.

Main Results:

• The LC group exhibited significantly worse periodontal parameters and a higher prevalence of periodontitis (p = 0.012).
• 92% of LC patients had severe periodontitis (stages III and IV).
• Alcohol consumption (OR = 23.81) and PISA score (OR = 1.006) were independent predictors of LC.

Conclusions:

• A higher prevalence of periodontal disease was observed in the liver cirrhosis group.
• The findings suggest a significant association between liver cirrhosis and periodontitis.
• Periodontal health assessment may be valuable in managing patients with liver disease.