Periodontal health and adverse pregnancy outcome in 3,576 Turkish women

Background: Preterm low birth weight (PLBW) is a problem encountered worldwide. The many causes of low birth weight (LBW) and premature or preterm birth (PTB) vary among developing/industrialized countries. Few studies have been published, in part because of the paucity of subjects and the ethnic heterogeneity of the populations. Our goals were to correlate maternal periodontal disease with birth outcomes in a Turkish population and evaluate maternal periodontal health. Methods: This study consisted of 3,576 Turkish women who gave birth within 24 hours of the onset of labor. The adjusted odds ratio was generated from various logistic regression models. Results: Codes from the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) were evaluated according to treatment need (TN). The TN-I rate was 24.2% (N = 866), the TN-II rate was 73.5% (N = 2,628), and the TN-III rate was 2.3% (N = 82). There were 566 (15.8%) adverse birth outcomes; the PTB with LBW rate was 4.2%; the PTB with normal birth weight (NBW) rate was 8.3%; the in term birth with LBW rate was 3.3%, and the in term birth with NBW rate was 84.2%. The overall PTB rate was 12.5% (N = 447), and the LBW rate was 7.5% (N = 269). The mean birth weight and weeks of gestation decreased as the CPITN level increased (P < 0.001 for both). The LBW rate was 4.6% in the TN-I group, 8.3% in the TN-II group, and 14.6% in the TN-III group. TPTB rates were 10.5%, 12.7%, and 26.8%, respectively, whereas adverse birth outcome rates were 12.0%, 16.6%, and 30.5%, respectively (P < 0.01 for all). TN-II and TN-III were independent risk factors for LBW, PTB, and abnormal births in regression analyses. Conclusion: Maternal periodontal disease may be a risk factor for an adverse pregnancy outcome.