Excessive weight in pregnant women increases the chance of diagnosing periodontitis combined with tooth loss

Background: Excess weight (EW), especially in women of childbearing age, those who are pregnant, as well as postpartum, is a problem worldwide. Fat accumulation deregulates the inflammatory response, contributing to the development of health problems, such as periodontitis. This study investigated the association between EW and periodontitis during pregnancy.

Methods: A cross-sectional, multicenter study involved 1745 postpartum women in Brazil. Socioeconomic-demographic data, gestational history, lifestyle behavior, and general and oral health conditions were obtained. Pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) was collected from medical records with EW being the exposure. Both tooth loss and clinical attachment level (CAL) were evaluated, and the presence of periodontitis was the outcome. Logistic regression, odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI), and quantile regression, beta coefficient and 95% CI, estimated the association between EW (BMI) and periodontitis and its combined effect with tooth loss ≥3, as dichotomous and continuous variables (CAL and tooth loss), with 5% significance level.

Results: The EW was 27.7% prevalent and periodontitis was 11.7%. There was a positive association between EW and periodontitis: OR_adjusted:1.39; 95% CI:1.01;1.92 and between EW and periodontitis combined with tooth loss ≥3: OR_adjusted:1.73; 95% CI:1.36;2.20. The adjusted association between EW and periodontitis as continuous variables was also positive, showing that for each unit of increased BMI, there was an elevation in the mean CAL (p = 0.04) and tooth loss (p < 0.01), with statistical significance.

Conclusions: There was a moderate association between EW and periodontitis during pregnancy, with an even greater association of pregnant women with EW presenting periodontitis combined with tooth loss.