Influence of non-surgical periodontal therapy on insulin resistance in chronic periodontitis subjects with prediabetes

Prediabetes (PRD) has been closely associated with chronic periodontitis (CP). Lately, studies have proposed the role of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), a ubiquitous antioxidant, in potentiating insulin resistance (IR), a significant factor in PRD. As overexpression of GPx is associated with CP as well as IR, the current study was undertaken to evaluate the influence of non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) on GPx levels and hence the IR in CP subjects with PRD. Forty-seven subjects were divided into two major groups: healthy controls (n = 11) and CP (n = 36), according to probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL). The CP patients were subdivided into CP only (n = 18) and CP with PRD (n = 18) based on baseline FBS levels. Serum and crevicular GPx and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured in all the subjects using spectrophotometry. The participants underwent NSPT at baseline and 3 months. At 6 months, all the parameters were re-recorded. At 6 months after NSPT, there was significant improvement in periodontal health (p < 0.05) in all the three groups which was associated with reduced GPx and MDA levels. Besides, a significant reduction in IR was noted in both CP and CP with PRD groups (p < 0.05). NSPT may be a vital tool in reducing IR in CP subjects with PRD. This was clearly evident as there was progressive decline in IR with GPx levels along with improvement in other parameters, specifically in the PRD group.