CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS A POSSIBLE THREAT TOWARDS CVD

Background and Objective: Chronic periodontitis is a common oral health issue. The cause and affect relation of chronic periodontitis with cardiovascular disease has been a hot topic of research but there is scarcity of database in our population. The present study was designed to assess the association of mild to severe chronic periodontitis with cardiac disease in local males and females by estimation of pro-active inflammatory cytokine IL-6. Methods: This was an analytical cross – sectional study conducted on 75 volunteers including 46 males and 29 females. A total of 55% patients were diagnosed with both cardiac and periodontal pathology, whereas 45% patients with only chronic periodontitis. Sandwich ELISA was used for the estimation of circulatory IL-6. Results: Higher levels of circulatory IL-6 were found in both genders with advance state of chronic periodontitis. Although low IL-6 was observed in periodontitis alone in comparison with periodontitis associated heart disease. Highest serum IL-6 was estimated in cardiac patients with mild periodontitis in comparison with the severe one. Higher IL-6 was observed in males as compared to females with mild periodontitis alone and in those with cardiac pathology as well, except in the category of severe periodontitis. Conclusion: In mild periodontitis with or without heart disease, males relatively exhibited increased serum IL-6 but in case of severe periodontitis, females displayed higher IL-6.