Abstract
Introduction Obesity is the excessive deposition of body fat in relation to lean body mass. In this research, its relation to periodontitis has been analysed using clinical and biochemical parameters. The current study assessed the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and periodontitis using salivary visfatin levels. Materials and methods Sixty participants (33 males and 27 females) were categorised into three different groups according to BMI: group 1: normal weight (n=20); group 2: overweight (n=20); and group 3: obese (n=20). Clinical parameters such as probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) were recorded. Salivary samples were collected and assessed for salivary visfatin levels with the aid of a human visfatin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The results were assessed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23.0 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Results The PPD, CAL, and salivary visfatin levels were higher in group 3, followed by groups 2 and 1, and were statistically significant (p=0.000). The correlation between visfatin and PPD (r=0.962) and visfatin and CAL (r=0.978) was strongly positive and statistically significant. Conclusion This study demonstrates a strong positive correlation between BMI and periodontitis. Moreover, salivary visfatin can be considered a diagnostic marker for periodontal diseases.