This study aimed to explore the association between pre-pregnancy BMI and longitudinal changes in inflammatory markers from the second trimester of pregnancy to 6-8 weeks postpartum in women with periodontitis. This is a secondary exploratory analysis of 68 women who took part in a feasibility clinical trial in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Inflammatory markers included C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) blood concentrations at 11-22 (T0) and 30-36 gestational weeks (T1), and 6-8 weeks postpartum (T3). Longitudinal generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to identify possible associations between pre-pregnancy BMI and changes in concentrations of inflammatory markers. Pre-pregnancy excess weight (β = 4.39; 95% CI, 2.12-6.65) was significantly associated with increased CRP levels from pregnancy to postpartum. There were no significant associations between pre-pregnancy BMI and longitudinal changes in IL-6, IL-10 and MMP-9. Our findings provide evidence that a higher pre-pregnancy BMI may lead to increases in CRP levels during pregnancy in women with periodontitis, irrespective of the severity of clinical periodontal parameters. Further studies need to investigate if predictors of changes in inflammatory markers can be used as prognostic factors for gestational outcomes.
Keywords: C-reactive protein; inflammatory markers; interleukins; periodontitis; pre-pregnancy BMI; predictors; pregnant women.