Periodontitis and Carotid Artery Intima-Media Wall Thickness

Method: It was selected 50 subjects who had been referenced for a carotid ultrasound at the Cardiology Service at Hospital de Faro, EPE, for a periodontal evaluation, according to the protocol Periodontal Health Assessment and Periodontal Disease Severity (EGOHID II, 2008).They were divided into two groups, according to the thickness of the intima-media complex; the control group, whose thickness was less than 0.9 mm, and the test group, whose thickness was greater than or equal to 0.9 mm. It was used the Chi-Square test of independence to evaluate the association between periodontal condition and the thickness of the carotid artery intima-media complex, with a significance level of 5%.

Result: By Chi-Square test of independence,p < 0.001, it was found significant differences between the values of thickness of the intima-media complex of the carotid artery due to the periodontal condition. 65.2% of subjects with periodontal health belonged to the control group, whereas 85.2% of subjects with periodontitis belonged to the test group. Therefore a significant higher proportion of the individuals with periodontal disease also had thickness of the intima-media complex greater than or equal to 0.9 mm. It was also found that most subjects from the test group had some form of periodontitis, being the subjects with severe periodontitis the most prevalent.

Conclusion: There is a statistically significant association between the carotid artery intima-media wall thickness and periodontitis.The periodontitis severity may also be associated with an increased thickening of the carotid artery wall.