Association between periodontitis and preeclampsia in never-smokers: a prospective study

Aim: The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the relationship between periodontitis and preeclampsia in never-smokers. Materials and Methods: Pregnant women were recruited at 21 to 24 weeks of gestation from March 2009 to June 2013. Information on demographics, health behaviours, obstetric history, and systemic diseases that can influence periodontal status and preeclampsia was collected. Full-mouth periodontal probing was performed by two trained examiners. The inter-examiner Kappa value was 0.822 for clinical attachment loss (CAL). Periodontitis was defined as clinical periodontal attachment loss (CAL) of 4.0 mm or greater on 2 or more sites not on the same tooth. Information on the occurrence of preeclampsia was collected by five obstetricians. Results: We studied a total of 283 subjects, comprised of 67 subjects with periodontitis and 216 subjects without periodontitis. Of these, 13 (4.6%) women were diagnosed with preeclampsia. After adjusting for all confounders, the adjusted odds ratio of periodontitis for preeclampsia was 5.56 (95% confidence interval of 1.49-20.71). Conclusions: There was a significant relationship between periodontitis and the occurrence of preeclampsia among never-smokers.