Chronic periodontitis and smoking Prevalence and dose-response relationship

OBJECTIVES To determine the prevalence and dose-response relationship of chronic periodontitis among smokers in Pakistan. METHODS   This is a cross-sectional study among participants seeking dental care in Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 443 participants with a mean age of 44.3 (±6.5) participated in the study from April 2011 to December 2011. Males comprised 64.7%, and females comprised 35.2%. Participants were interviewed on social demographics and oral habits. Participants with shallow pockets (3.5-5.5 mm) and deep pockets (greater than 5.5 mm) were considered suffering from chronic periodontitis. The characteristics of participants were assessed using frequency distribution for categorical variables and mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables.  RESULTS Among 443 participants, smokers were distributed as 55.1% and non-smokers as 44.9%. Smoking was found to be significantly related to young adults (p less than 0.007), male gender (p less than 0.001), and lower education level (p less than 0.01). Overall prevalence of chronic periodontitis among smokers was estimated at 81.6%. Heavy smoking was found to have significantly high prevalence (p less than 0.001) and severity (p less than 0.001) of periodontitis as compared with moderate and light smokers. The multivariate unadjusted model depicted 3.5 times higher risk of chronic periodontitis among smokers (p less than 0.001). CONCLUSION Chronic periodontitis had a high prevalence among smokers. Heavy smoking was found to have a higher risk for having periodontitis.