Establishing the association of periodontal disease with obesity and overweight

Background and Objective: According to statistics provided by WHO, in 2014, over 600 million individuals were declared obese. India alone accounts for 20% of the world's obese adults. It has been established that obesity is associated with various other systemic diseases. This study aimed to establish if there existed a similar association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and periodontal disease among the North Indian adult population. Materials and Method: A cross sectional study was conducted from October - December 2015, recruiting a total of 199 subjects who had been diagnosed with chronic periodontitis and gave no history of systemic illness. The personal details of the subjects including their age, sex, etc. were recorded along with their height (in cm) and weight (in Kg). Body mass index was calculated and subjects were categorized based on the same. Periodontal status was assessed using Russell's Periodontal Index (PI). Results: A significant difference was seen in the values of BMI and PI, as well as in the BMI categories, among the study participants when categorized by gender. When the subjects were stratified according to 3 age groups: young (18–34), middle aged (35–60) and older adults (60+), a highly significant change was observed in the mean BMI and PI scores between the 3 categories. A weak and statistically insignificant association was found between the subjects' BMI and their respective periodontal status. Conclusion: Though the literature supports a positive correlation between obesity and periodontal disease incidence and severity, the findings of our study implied the presence of an indistinct link between periodontal disease and body mass index among different variables in the North Indian adult demographic.