May 2019 · Volume 8 · Issue 5 Page 1767 International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology Priyanka S et al. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2019 May;8(5):1767-1774 www.ijrcog.org pISSN 2320-1770 | eISSN 2320-1789 Original Research Article Prevalence of maternal periodontitis and its association with preterm and low birth weight infants: a hospital-based study Priyanka S. 1 , Sowmya Koteshwara 1 *, Anitha Subappa 2 INTRODUCTION Preterm birth is defined as babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed. 1 Preterm birth and being small for gestational ages (SGA) are the reasons for low-birth-weight (LBW), which is defined as live born infants with birth weight less than 2500 gms. LBW contributes to 60% to 80% of all neonatal deaths. The global prevalence of LBW is 15.5%, which amounts to about 20 million LBW infants born each year, 96.5% of them in developing countries. 2 Multiple factors have been associated with LBW. Some of these known risk factors in mothers for LBW include anemia, preeclampsia, genitourinary infections, extremes of maternal age, previous preterm delivery, inadequate prenatal care, low pre pregnancy weight, multiple gestations, diabetes mellitus, low socioeconomic status ABSTRACT Background: Preterm deliveries and low birth are important causes of infant mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between maternal periodontitis and preterm and low birth weight at delivery and to correlate the severity of periodontitis with obstetric outcome. Methods: This was a prospective observational study conducted in Outpatient Department of Tertiary Care Hospital. Pregnant women who had regular antenatal checkup at were screened clinically for periodontitis. Those who were diagnosed with periodontitis and satisfied the inclusion and exclusion criteria were considered as cases (n=45) and equal number of pregnant women without periodontal disease (n=45) were included in the study as controls. These patients were followed up and gestational age at delivery and baby’s birth weight was noted and correlated to the maternal periodontal status. Results: The prevalence of maternal periodontitis was found to be 11.4%. Mean age, socioeconomic status and educational status was comparable. 33.3%, 40% of the cases v/s 17.8%, 24.4% of controls had preterm deliveries and LBW infants respectively. 26.8% of cases with mild periodontitis and all cases of moderate and severe periodontitis had preterm birth. Additionally, 34.1% of cases with mild periodontitis and all cases with moderate and severe periodontitis had low birth weight infants (p=0.02). Conclusions: Maternal periodontitis is found to be associated with preterm and low birth weight deliveries. The severity of periodontitis is inversely related to gestational age at delivery and birth weight of infant. Thus, periodontitis is suggested to be a modifiable risk factor for preterm and low birth deliveries. Keywords: Low birth weight, Maternal periodontitis, Preterm delivery DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20191530 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, JSS Medical College and Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, India 2 Department of Periodontology, JSS Dental College and Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, India Received: 03 April 2019 Accepted: 09 April 2019 *Correspondence: Dr. Sowmya Koteshwar, E-mail: sowsheshu@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.