Assessment of clinical depression in abdominally obese subjects with periodontal disease.

Background: Depression is a commonly prevailing condition that goes undetected in clinical settings. Both abdominal obesity and periodontal disease have a bearing on mental health and have an impact on the quality of life. Objective: To assess the level of clinical depression in abdominally obese subjects with periodontal disease. Methods: Two hundred and ten subjects with a mean age of 37.45 ± 9.59 years (males = 117; females = 93) were grouped as per their abdominal obesity and periodontal status and assessed for their clinical depression levels (mental health) using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). Collected data were analysed. Results: The clinical depression score significantly varied in subjects with different periodontal status in both non-obese (F (2,102) = 113.66, P < 0.0001) and abdominally obese subjects (F (2,102) = 132.04, P < 0.001). Significantly higher depression score was demonstrated in healthy (P < 0.001), gingivitis (P < 0.001), and periodontitis (P < 0.001) groups in abdominally obese subjects. Conclusion: Clinical depression is significantly associated with abdominal obesity and periodontal disease in subjects with abdominal obesity and severe periodontal disease demonstrating higher depression scores.

Maternal periodontal status, oral inflammatory load, and systemic inflammation are associated with low infant birth weight.

BACKGROUND: Periodontal disease and pregnancy outcomes have been claimed to be associated with conflicting reports. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the association between maternal periodontal status, oral inflammatory load and serum C- reactive protein (CRP) level, and infant birth weight. METHODS: A total of 156 pregnant women (age 26.62 ± 3.93 years) within the gestational age group of 13 to 32 weeks participated in this cross-sectional study. Oral inflammatory load (OIL) was assessed in a salivary rinse sample using fluorescence microscopy. Clinical periodontal parameters were recorded and serum C-reactive protein level (CRP) was assessed. Participants were followed till delivery, details of parturition and infant birth weight (IBW) was recorded. RESULTS: OIL was significantly more in participants with mild and moderate periodontitis as compared to those with gingivitis in mid and late stages of pregnancy. Periodontal and systemic inflammatory parameters were positively correlated. A significant negative correlation was found between IBW and OIL (P = 0.006) and serum CRP (P < 0.001). The GI score (P = 0.039), BOP% (P = 0.023), serum CRP level (P < 0.001) and oral polymorphonuclear neutrophil (oPMN) count (P < 0.001) was significantly more in mothers delivering babies with low IBW. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that only oPMN (ß = - 0.244, P = 0.021) and serum CRP (ß = - 0.226, P = 0.019) were included in the best model (R2  = 0.12, F(3,152) = 7.15, P < 0.001) for significantly predicting the infant birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: Poor maternal periodontal status, increased oral inflammatory load and increased systemic inflammation have an adverse effect on infant birth weight.