ABSTRACT
AIM: To test the null hypothesis of association between chronic apical periodontitis (CAP) and plasmatic levels of the C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and fibrinogen in a population of severely hypertensive patients. METHODOLOGY: One hundred and seventy patients with severe refractory hypertension were selected. All patients were submitted to radiographic, clinical and periodontal evaluation. Plasmatic levels of CRP, IL-6 and fibrinogen were measured on the morning of the first periodontal appointment using commercially available kits. Multiple linear regression analyses were carried out to appraise the effect of the co-variables on the plasmatic levels of the inflammatory markers assessed. RESULTS: Of the 170 subjects who participated, 105 (61.8%) were females and the median age of the participants was 53 years (range: 40-78). The adjusted multiple linear analyses demonstrated that plasmatic levels of CRP levels were associated with the body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.259, P < 0.001) and residual tooth roots (RTR) (r = 0.191, P = 0.041). IL-6 and fibrinogen levels showed associated with BMI (r = 0.400, P < 0.001 and r = 0.214, P = 0.002 respectively). CAP correlated weakly with CRP (r = 0.250, P = 0.005), IL-6 (r = 0.174, P = 0.020) and fibrinogen (r = 0.393, P < 0.001) levels. CONCLUSION: The null hypothesis was rejected in favour of the alternative hypothesis. In other words, the presence of chronic apical periodontitis was associated with higher plasmatic levels of CRP, IL-6 and fibrinogen, in a population of severely hypertensive patients. However, the weak association between CAP and each dependent variable suggests a modest participation of endodontic infection on the plasmatic levels of biomarkers.
