Influence of Myeloperoxidase Levels on Periodontal Disease: An Applied Clinical Study

In this trial, we evaluated the influence on plasma and salivary myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels of periodontal health, coronary heart disease (CHD), periodontitis, or both periodontitis and CHD. Clinical and periodontal parameters were collected from periodontitis patients (n = 31), CHD patients (n = 31), patients with both periodontitis and CHD (n = 31), and from healthy patients (n = 31) together with saliva and plasma samples. The median concentrations of salivary and plasma MPO were statistically higher in the CHD patients [plasma: 26.2 (18.2-34.4) ng/mg; saliva 83.2 (77.4-101.5) ng/mL, p < 0.01] and in the periodontitis plus CHD patients [plasma: 27.8 (22.5-35.7) ng/mg; saliva 85.6 (76.5-106.7) ng/mL, p < 0.001] with respect to periodontitis and control patients. Through a univariate regression analysis, c-reactive protein (CRP) and CHD (both p < 0.001) and periodontitis (p = 0.024) were statistically correlated with MPO in plasma. The multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that only CRP was statistically the predictor of MPO in plasma (p < 0.001). The multivariate regression analysis in saliva demonstrated that, regarding MPO levels the only predictors were CRP (p < 0.001) and total cholesterol (p = 0.035). The present study evidenced that subjects with CHD and periodontitis plus CHD had higher plasma and salivary levels of MPO compared to subjects with periodontitis and healthy controls.