Chronic periodontitis and smoking: Prevalence and dose-response relationship

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and doseresponse relationship of chronic periodontitis among smokers in Pakistan. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study among participants seeking dental care in Karachi Medical and Dental College, Karachi, Pakistan. A total of 443 participants with a mean age of 44.3 (±6.5) participated in the study from April 2011 to December 2011. Males comprised 64.7%, and females comprised 35.2%. Participants were interviewed on social demographics and oral habits. Participants with shallow pockets (3.5-5.5 mm) and deep pockets (>5.5 mm) were considered suffering from chronic periodontitis. The characteristics of participants were assessed using frequency distribution for categorical variables and mean (standard deviation) for continuous variables. Results: Among 443 participants, smokers were distributed as 55.1% and non-smokers as 44.9%. Smoking was found to be significantly related to young adults (p<0.007), male gender (p<0.001), and lower education level (p<0.01). Overall prevalence of chronic periodontitis among smokers was estimated at 81.6%. Heavy smoking was found to have significantly high prevalence (p<0.001) and severity (p<0.001) of periodontitis as compared with moderate and light smokers. The multivariate unadjusted model depicted 3.5 times higher risk of chronic periodontitis among smokers (p<0.001). Conclusion: Chronic periodontitis had a high prevalence among smokers. Heavy smoking was found to have a higher risk for having periodontitis.