Periodontitis - A Risk Factor For Preterm Low Birth Weight Children (PLBW)

Objectives: Our aim is to evaluate/asses the association between maternal periodontitis and preterm delivery among low socio economic women. Subjects of low socioeconomic status are the major focus of this study.
Methods: A Crosssectional study conducted at Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Civil Hospital, Karachi with a sample size 152 postpartum women.
A proforma was filled on behalf of subjects, which allowed them to state any past or present medical conditions, drug history, family income and occupation of husband. A thorough periodontal examination was done in all participants with their consent which included gingival
bleeding, calculus, pocket depth of 4 to 5 mm and probing depth of greater than 6mm After delivery, gestational age (in weeks) and birth weight of baby (in kg) were collected from hospital records. Infants were placed into the following categories: gestational age and birth weight. The baby’s weight measured in kilograms was recorded and the gestational week stated in weeks. According to the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) birth weight less than 2.5kg is considered as low birth weight and gestational week below 37 weeks is said to be a preterm delivery and beyond that is regarded as normal.
Results: Out of 152 cases 17.1% had premature delivery with periodontal condition, 53.7% had normal delivery with periodontitis, while 7.4% and 21.8% with no periodontal disease had preterm and normal delivery respectively. It is noteworthy that those children had low birth weight whose mothers had 4-6mm pocket depth.
Conclusions: Study failed to show any association between periodontal disease (indicated by pocket depth) nat the delivery of low birth weight.