Laboratory findings in treated recall patients and SHIP comparison groups

Methods: Within the Greifswald Approach to Individualized Medicine (GANI_MED) 115 recall patients were examined between 04/08/2011 and 07/12/2012. Recall patients were 1:1 matched (age, gender) with 1) 113 subjects from SHIP-TREND (2008-2012, region West Pomerania) with low mean probing depth (MPD) and low mean attachment loss (MAL), 2) 112 subjects with high MPD and high MAL, and 3) 106 subjects with comparable MAL but high MPD. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between laboratory findings and being a recall patient (dependent variable), while adjusting for age, gender, education, smoking status, and waist-to-hip-ratio.

Results: When comparing recall patients with the matched groups, some socio-demographic and behavioural variables differed significantly. Recall patients had a better oral hygiene compared to all SHIP comparison groups (p<0.05). After full adjustment, recall patients had significantly increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels (p=0.006) and increased haemoglobin A1c levels (p=0.02) compared to SHIP subjects with low MPD and low MAL (group 1). Compared to SHIP subjects with higher MPD and higher MAL (group 2) recall patients had significantly lower total cholesterol levels (p=0.02), lower low-density lipoprotein levels (p=0.009), lower triglyceride levels (p=0.049) and significantly higher HDL levels (p=0.01). Comparisons between recall patients and SHIP subjects with comparable attachment levels (group 3) revealed significantly higher HDL levels in recall patients (p=0.01). Creatinine levels and the glomerular filtration rate did not differ significantly between recall patients and any of the SHIP comparison groups.

Conclusion: The combination of periodontal treatment and a close recall system might have positive effects on HDL levels and might thus improve metabolic status.