Serum Anti-CL and OxLDL Levels in Hypertensives with Chronic Periodontitis

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether chronic periodontitis (CP) cause the elevated levels of anti-cardiolipin antibodies (anti-CL) and oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) in patients with essential hypertension (EH). Methods: Seventy-two subjects were categorized into healthy controls (healthy-control group), hypertensive patients with periodontally healthy (healthy-EH group), hypertensive patients with gingivitis (gingivitis-EH group) and hypertensive patients with CP (periodontitis-EH group). EH was defined as taking anti-hypertensive medication at least 2 years. Periodontal parameters including plaque index (PI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment loss were recorded, and blood samples were collected. Serum IgM anti-CL, IgG anti-CL, and oxLDL levels were measured using ELISA. For IgM and IgG anti-CL assay, a positive test was defined as greater than 15 MPL, and 10 GPL, respectively. Results: Mean IgM anti-CL level and the prevalence of subjects positive for IgM anti-CL were significantly higher in periodontitis-EH group compared to the other groups (p=0.001). No significant differences were observed in mean IgG anti-CL and oxLDL levels and in number of subjects positive for IgG anti-CL and for IgM or IgG anti-CL among the study groups. Pearson correlation analysis revealed significant positive correlations between IgM anti-CL levels and PI, BOP, PD scores (p<0.01). Conclusions: CP might play a causal role in the elevated serum levels of anti-CL antibodies in EH patients. The increased risk for atherosclerosis in EH patients could be associated with elevated anti-CL levels due to CP. Therefore, periodontal managements should be important for hypertensive patients.

This study was supported by grant 2005 Dental 023; from the Research Fund, Ege University, Turkey.