Serum lipoproteins and chronic periodontitis – A diagnostic dilemma

Abstract Objective To check whether any association can be established between chronic periodontitis and abnormal serum lipoproteins levels. Methods A case–control study was designed including 72 subjects (both male and female) falling in the age group of 30–60 years, reporting to the department of periodontology of Faculty of dental sciences; of which, 37 were established as cases, and 35 were identified as controls based on clinical and periodontal parameters. Clinical parameters included serum lipoproteins such as high-density lipoproteins (HDLs), low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), cholesterol, and triglycerides, and the periodontal parameters included clinical attachment level (CAL) and probing pocket depth (PPD). Results A statistically significant increase in the incidence of periodontitis was noticed with increasing age ( p  = 0.05). However, a comparison of gender with incidence of periodontitis failed to reveal significant results ( p  > 0.087). Statistically significant results were not obtained ( p  > 0.05), when mean values for each variable viz. HDL, LDL, Cholesterol and TG were compared among cases and controls. Conclusion No statistically significant results could be established; as a result, more samples along with controlled confounding factors need to be judged to establish any possible link between chronic periodontitis and abnormal serum lipoprotein levels.