Association between Obesity and Periodontal Diseases in the Iranian Population in Gorgan City in 2015-2016

The prevalence of obesity as the most common metabolic disorder has increased recently. It is a life-threatening condition and a risk factor for several diseases, including diabetes type II, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. The results of recent studies have indicated the existence of an association between periodontal disease and obesity in different populations. The present study aimed to determine if there was any relationship between obesity and periodontal disease among the Iranian adult population.

A sample of 367 was selected from 20-50-year-old patients referring to the Dental Clinic of Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran, for the first time. Periodontal examinations and anthropometric measurements were performed on all participants. Periodontitis was defined based on the presence of one or more teeth with one or more sites with a periodontal probing depth of ≥ 4 mm and clinical attachment loss of ≥ 3 mm.

It was found that 155 (42.2%) participants were diagnosed with periodontitis, 84 (54.2%) of whom were overweight and obese. It was revealed that a higher body mass index (BMI) was significantly related to the increased odds of periodontitis (odds ratio [OR]:1.9 and 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2, 3.2). After adjusting for age and gender, no significant association was found in this population between an increase in waist circumference (WC; OR: 1.6, 95% CI: 0.8, 3.4) and the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR; OR: 0.6, 95% CI: 0.3, 1.2) with increased odds of periodontitis.

It was revealed that a BMI of ˃ 25 was a potential risk factor for periodontitis. No evidence was found regarding the relationship between high WHR and an increased risk of periodontitis in our study population.