Increased serum interleukin-1β level in chronic periodontal disease as a risk factor for cardio-vascular diseases

Background: Periodontitis, a chronic inflammatory oral infection may have profound effects on systemic health. Studies have suggested that periodontal infection can result in metabolic deregulation of serum lipids causing cardiovascular disease which remain the leading cause of death in industrialized countries. As it is hypothesized that hyperlipidemia in cases of periodontitis could be due to increase in serum IL-1β levels, similarly if a correlation is found between serum IL-1β levels and periodontitis, it will help us in increasing awareness amongst the medical faculty about the role of periodontitis as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Aim: To evaluate and compare the serum Interleukin-1β levels in subjects with healthy periodontium with those suffering from chronic generalized severe periodontitis. Material & Methods: 30 subjects with a healthy periodontium (control group) and 30 subjects suffering from chronic generalized severe periodontitis (test group) were selected for the study to compare their serum Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels after obtaining informed consent. Blood samples were collected and sent for the assessment of serum IL-1β levels and the data was subjected to statistical analysis. Result: The results of our study show that there is a significantly higher level of serum IL-1β in chronic generalized severe periodontitis as compared to healthy periodontium. Conclusion: The observation of this study was that there was a statistically highly significant serum IL-1β level in chronic generalized severe periodontitis as compared to healthy subjects suggesting a relationship between periodontitis and cardiovascular disease