title: Progressive periodontal disease and risk of very preterm delivery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The goal was to estimate whether maternal periodontal disease was predictive of preterm (less than 37 weeks) or very preterm (less than 32 weeks) births.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective study of obstetric outcomes, entitled Oral Conditions and Pregnancy (OCAP), was conducted with 1,020 pregnant women who received both an antepartum and postpartum periodontal examination. Predictive models were developed to estimate whether maternal exposure to either periodontal disease at enrollment (less than 26 weeks) and/or periodontal disease progression during pregnancy, as determined by comparing postpartum with antepartum status, were predictive of preterm or very preterm births, adjusting for risk factors including previous preterm delivery, race, smoking, social domain variables, and other infections.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Incidence of preterm birth was 11.2% among periodontally healthy women, compared with 28.6% in women with moderate-severe periodontal disease (adjusted risk ratio [RR] 1.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-2.3). Antepartum moderate-severe periodontal disease was associated with an increased incidence of spontaneous preterm births (15.2% versus 24.9%, adjusted RR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.2). Similarly, the unadjusted rate of very preterm delivery was 6.4% among women with periodontal disease progression, significantly higher than the 1.8% rate among women without disease progression (adjusted RR 2.4, 95% CI 1.1-5.2).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The OCAP study demonstrates that maternal periodontal disease increases relative risk for preterm or spontaneous preterm births. Furthermore, periodontal disease progression during pregnancy was a predictor of the more severe adverse pregnancy outcome of very preterm birth, independently of traditional obstetric, periodontal, and social domain risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  II-2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Center for Oral and Systemic Diseases, University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7455, USA. steve_offenbacher@dentistry.unc.edu
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Offenbacher
authors.forename: Kim A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Boggess
authors.forename: Amy P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Murtha
authors.forename: Heather L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Jared
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lieff
authors.forename: Rosemary G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: McKaig
authors.forename: Sally M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mauriello
authors.forename: Kevin L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008423:Maternal Age; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011295:Prenatal Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index