Periodontitis-associated risk factors in pregnant women

objective: the main objective of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with periodontitis in pregnant women. methods: this study was conducted in two stages. in stage 1, a cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of periodontitis among 810 women treated at the maternity ward of a university hospital. in stage 2, the factors associated with periodontitis were investigated in two groups of pregnant women: 90 with periodontitis and 720 without. a hierarchized approach to the evaluation of the risk factors was used in the analysis, and the independent variables related to periodontitis were grouped into two levels: 1) socio-demographic variables; 2a) variables related to nutritional status, smoking, and number of pregnancies; and 2b) variables related to oral hygiene. periodontitis was defined as a probing depth > 4 mm and an attachment loss > 3 mm at the same site in four or more teeth. a logistic regression analysis was also performed. results: the prevalence of periodontitis in this sample was 11%. the variables that remained in the final multivariate model with the hierarchized approach were schooling, family income, smoking, body mass index, and bacterial plaque. conclusion: the factors identified underscore the social nature of the disease, as periodontitis was associated with socioeconomic, demographic status, and poor oral hygiene.