EVALUATION OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN LEVEL IN PATIENTS WITH DIFFERENT GRADES OF CHRONIC PERIODONTITIS- A CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY

Background: Periodontitis is a local inflammatory process mediating destruction of periodontal
tissues triggered by bacterial insult. However, this disease is also characterized by systemic
inflammatory host responses that may contribute, in part, to higher risk for cardiovascular diseases
(CVD). The present study aims to examine C reactive protein (CRP) levels, as a marker of the
inflammatory host response, in sera of subjects with varying grades of periodontitis and to correlate it
to lipid profile thereby determining if CRP levels in chronic periodontitis can be used as an indicator
of cardio vascular diseases.
Materials and method: Fasting blood samples from 60 patients comprising of 20 periodontally
healthy patients, 20 patients with clinically moderate attachment loss and 20 patients with clinically
severe attachment loss was collected and assessed for CRP, total cholesterol (Chol) & triglycerides
(TG), as well as high & low density lipoproteins (HDL, LDL). The findings were then statistically
analyzed.
Conclusion: A positive correlation between CRP levels and total cholesterol, triglycerides, & LDL
and a negative correlation between CRP and HDL was observed with an increase in severity of
periodontitis. Thus, CRP levels in chronic periodontitis could be an indicator of cardiovascular
diseases.