The role of leptin as a biomarker in the relationship between periodontitis and chronic migraine

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of periodontitis (CP) and its contribution to serum leptin levels in chronic migraine (CM).

Material and methods: In this case-control study, we included 150 subjects divided into healthy controls (n = 58) and CM patients (n = 92). Demographic, neurological, clinical data as well as full-mouth periodontal records were obtained. Serum leptin levels were measured by ELISA technique.

Results: Both the prevalence of CP and mean serum leptin levels were significantly higher in patients with CM in comparison with controls (57.6% versus 36.2%, p = .01 and 16.4 versus 7.2 ng/ml, p < .0001, respectively). Patients from the CM group who had CP showed significantly higher leptin concentrations than CM patients without CP (19.8 versus 11.8 ng/ml, p < .0001). Multivariable linear regression analysis showed that CP was an independent contributor to raised leptin levels in CM patients (R² = 0.270, p = 0.013).

Conclusions: CP is prevalent in CM patients and when present it contributes to elevated serum leptin levels, independently of other confounding factors. Therefore, it seems that CP via leptin could be involved in the process of migraine chronification.

Keywords: adipocytokines; chronic migraine; headache; inflammation; leptin; periodontitis.