Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects approximately 4% to 12% of females of reproductive age. Previous studies have shown an association between systemic and periodontal diseases. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of periodontal disease in women with PCOS and healthy women.
Methods: A total of 196 women aged 17 to 45 years were included in this study. Oral hygiene index-simplified (OHI-S), gingival index (GI), community periodontal index (CPI), and loss of attachment (LA) were assessed. Individuals who smoked, were pregnant, had any systemic disease (such as type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, malignancy, osteoporosis, and thyroid dysfunction), had a history of systemic antibiotic use in the past three months, or received any periodontal intervention in the past 6 months of screening were excluded. Student t-test was used to analyze the data. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: Despite similar OHI-S scores (p=0.972) in the two groups, women with PCOS had significantly higher GI, CPI, and LA scores than healthy women (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Periodontal disease was more prevalent in women with PCOS than in healthy women. This finding may be due to the synergistic effects of PCOS and periodontitis on proinflammatory cytokines. PCOS may have an effect on periodontal disease, and vice versa. Hence, education on periodontal health and early detection and intervention for periodontal diseases is of paramount importance in patients with PCOS.
Keywords: C-reactive protein; Community periodontal index; Insulin resistance; Periodontal attachment loss; Periodontal diseases; Polycystic ovary syndrome.