An assessment of anti-citrullinated protein antibody in systemically healthy individuals with or without chronic periodontitis: A case–control study

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis has been implicated as a risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). AIM: This study aimed to assess the relationship between RA and chronic periodontitis (CP) by evaluating the serum levels of the anti citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) which is a marker of RA in systemically healthy individuals with and without CP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case–control study enrolled 40 systemically healthy individuals. Participants were divided into two groups, i.e., CP group Systemically healthy chronic periodontitis (CPSH) (n = 20) and control group Systemically healthy (SH) (n = 20), matched for age and gender. The CP patients were evaluated for periodontal parameters, namely probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss, percentage of the site involved with attachment loss, and number of teeth present. A volume of 5 ml of venous blood was collected from both the groups and centrifuged; the separated serum was stored at − 70°C before being analyzed. Later, serum samples were tested for levels of ACPA in both the groups and compared. RESULTS: The mean serum ACPA levels were higher in CPSH patients compared to SH (131.38 RU/ml vs. 34.54 RU/ml, P = 0.001), which was statistically highly significant. In addition, we found a significant elevation of serum ACPA levels in severe generalized CP patients compared to moderate generalized CP patients (175.47 RU/ml vs. 95.31 RU/ml, P = 0.001), and the difference was statistically highly significant. CONCLUSION: The results of the study confirmed that CP can be a risk factor for RA. Moreover, the severity of periodontitis appeared to be related to elevated serum levels of ACPA.