Periodontitis Severity in Psoriasis versus Healthy Patients

A new meta-analysis In Frontiers In Medicine comparing periodontal statuses between psoriasis versus non-psoriasis patients to suggested that those with psoriasis tend to have poor periodontal status compared to those without.

Psoriasis patients, the researchers explained, are significantly more likely than non-psoriasis patients to develop periodontitis. However, it is unclear whether periodontal health status differs between psoriasis versus non-psoriasis patients. Existing data are limited and report conflicting conclusions.

The researchers queried PubMed and EMBASE for all trial data comparing periodontal statuses between psoriasis and non-psoriasis patients. They then extracted the available periodontal indexes from the eligible studies and then calculated the weighted mean difference (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by pooling the mean and standard deviations (SD) of each index.

The final analysis included eight studies with a total of 812 psoriasis patients and 772 non-psoriasis patients and eight periodontal indexes. Study publication dates ranged from 2013 to 2019. The WMD for bleeding on probing was 9.188 (95% CI, 4.046 to 14.330, P<0.001); probing depth, 0.524 mm (95% CI, 0.183 to 0.865, P=0.003); clinical attachment loss, 0.408 mm (95% CI, 0.051 to 0.765, P=0.025); plaque index, 0.186 (95% CI –0.170 to 0.543, P=0.306); gingival index, 0.458 (95% CI, –0.413 to 1.328, P=0.303); remaining teeth, –1.709 (95% CI –2.106 to 1.312, P<0.001); missing teeth, 1.130 (95% CI, 0.275 to 1.985, P=0.010); and level of alveolar bone less, 0.400 mm (95% CI 0.102 to 0.698, P=0.008).

The study authors concluded that psoriasis patients have poorer periodontal health than non-psoriasis patients, particularly featured by worse gingival inflammation, more alveolar bone loss, fewer remaining teeth, and more missing teeth.