Associations of periodontitis and oral manifestations with CD4 counts in human immunodeficiency virus-pregnant women in Thailand

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the associations of CD4 count with chronic periodontitis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related oral lesions in pregnant HIV-infected Thai women.

Study design: Two hundred ninety-two HIV-infected pregnant women were interviewed for health information and examined for their periodontal condition and HIV-related oral lesions during weeks 16-34 of gestation. Logistic regression, t tests and Chi-squared tests were used to examine the associations of CD4 count with oral lesions and periodontal conditions.

Results: One hundred thirty-three women (45.6%) had at least 1 tooth with a periodontal pocket over 4 mm. Thirty-eight (17.76%) subjects had oral candidiasis and 53 subjects (24.77%) had oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL). Low CD4 count was significantly associated with periodontitis at odds ratio (OR) = 2.06 with 95% confidence interval (CI) = [1.00-4.27], P = .05. A significant association was found for low CD4 count with OHL with OR = 3.57, 95% CI = [1.34-9.46], P = .01.

Conclusions: Chronic periodontitis and OHL were associated with CD4 count lower than 200 cells/mm(3) in HIV-infected women.