Change of periodontal inflammatory indicators through a 4-week weight control intervention including caloric restriction and exercise training in young Koreans: A pilot study

Abstract

Background: Recent cross-sectional studies indicate that obesity is a risk factor for periodontal disease. Exercise training in high fat mice or rats can inhibit gingival inflammation effectively. The objective of this human intervention study was to investigate whether short-term weight control could affect periodontal indexes and serum and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) biomarkers in young Koreans. Methods: Forty-one obese volunteers (body mass index (BMI) > 25.0) and 12 normal weight subjects (18.5 = BMI = 23.0) participated in a four-week weight control program to analyze the changes in anthropometric criteria, the concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and triglycerides in serum, gingival index, bleeding on probing, periodontal biomarkers in GCF, and dental plaque index at the first and the 27th days. Results: The means of obesity measures decreased significantly more in the obese group (BMI 2.53 ± 0.96, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) 4.88 ± 1.58 %, LDL 35.85 ± 21.74 mgdL-1) than in the normal weight group (BMI 0.78 ± 0.72, WHR 2.00 ± 0.95 %, LDL 15.58 ± 18.07 mgdL-1). While the obese group showed significant decreases in the biomarkers in GCF (IL-1β 58.38 ± 65.55 pgmL-1, MMP-8 4.19 ± 5.61 ngmL-1, MMP-9 3.36 ± 6.30 ngmL-1), the mean changes for the normal weight group (IL-1β 10.07 ± 21.08 pgmL-1, MMP-8 1.49 ± 4.61 ngmL-1, MMP-9 -1.52 ± 9.71 ngmL-1) were not statistically significant. Anthropometric measures and the amounts of GCF biomarkers had weak positive correlations (0.242 ≤ r ≤ 0.340), and LDL in serum correlated with MMP-8 (r = 0.332) and IL-1β (r=0.342) in the obese group. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis in the obese group showed that the relationship between the amount of IL-1β in GCF and predictor variables including LDL and BMI was highly significant and accounted for 19.1 % of the variance in IL-1β in GCF. Conclusions: In periodontally healthy subjects, weight control could reduce the amounts of MMP-8, MMP-9, and IL-1β in GCF of the obese subjects. Further studies with periodontally unhealthy and obese people are needed to identify the mechanism of decreases in inflammation biomarkers in GCF through weight control.