Metabolic health profile and gingival inflammation in obese children

Objective: To examine the extent to which metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO) is associated with gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) concentration among obese children.

Method: This is a cross‐sectional analysis from the baseline visit of the QUebec Adipose and Lifestyle InvesTigation in Youth cohort, an ongoing longitudinal study investigating the natural history of obesity in children of Quebec, Canada. The analytical sample includes 219 obese children aged 8–10 years, for whom data were available for both MUO and GCF TNF‐α. The independent variable, MUO, was defined as the presence of abdominal obesity (waist circumference ≥90th age‐ and sex‐specific percentile) and at least  two of the following: fasting plasma glucose ≥ 5.6mmol/L; fasting plasma triglycerides ≥ 1.7 mmol/L; fasting plasma HDL‐C ≤ 1.03 mmol/L; systolic blood pressure ≥90th age‐, sex‐ and height‐specific percentile. Biochemical analyses were performed on blood samples collected after an overnight fast. GCF samples were collected from the gingival sulcus using a paper strip and the concentration of TNF‐α was determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Analyses included descriptive statistics and sex‐specific linear regression analyses adjusting for potential confounders.

Result: The prevalence of MUO was 10.9%. The GCF TNF‐α concentration was 44.9% (95% confidence interval: 16.5 –73.3%) higher in boys with MUO compared to boys without. No association was observed among girls.

Conclusion: MUO was positively associated with GCF TNF‐α concentration in obese boys. These results suggest that metabolically unhealthy obesity may be associated with a worse periodontal health profile compared to metabolically healthy obesity.