The association of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans with preeclampsia in a subset of Japanese pregnant women.

AIM: To determine whether periodontitis and three prominent members of the periodontal flora are associated with the development of preeclampsia (hypertension plus proteinuria) Materials and Methods: The samples were composed of 127 systemically healthy women. Within 5 days after labour, clinical periodontal parameters and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Prevotella intermedia in subgingival plaque were evaluated. Maternal serum IgG antibody specific for each bacteria was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to control for confounders (maternal age, body mass index before pregnancy, parity, and smoking).

RESULTS: Eighteen women were affected with preeclampsia. The number of A.actinomycetemcomitans was shown to be significantly associated with preeclampsia in the logistic regression model (odds ratio; 1.7, 95% confidence interval; 1.1–2.7). There were statistically significant differences between the preeclamptic and control groups in body mass index before pregnancy, pre-term birth and low birthweight (respectively, p = 0.014, p = 0.010 and p < 0.0001). We found no statistically significant association between preeclampsia and periodontal clinical parameters or the presence of periodontitis.

CONCLUSION: In systemically healthy pregnant women, our findings suggested that the levels of maternal subgingival A. actinomycetemcomitans DNA were elevated in preeclamptic women.