Salivary Lipid Peroxidation in Patients With Generalized Chronic Periodontitis and Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Lipid peroxidation is a major consequence of oxidative stress and can be evaluated via malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. The present study aims to assess MDA levels in the saliva of patients with chronic periodontitis (CP) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and establish their correlation with periodontal clinical parameters, serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and plasma fibrinogen. Methods: The study enrolled 64 patients stratified into four age-and sex-matched groups: both ACS and CP, ACS only, CP only, and healthy controls. All patients were examined, periodontal clinical parameters were recorded, and saliva and blood samples were collected. Salivary MDA levels were measured using a spectrophotometric assay. A quantitative turbidimetric test was used for the measurement of serum hsCRP levels, and plasma fibrinogen levels were determined using an automated analyzer. Results: Salivary MDA levels were significantly higher in patients with both ACS and CP than in those with only ACS or only CP and healthy controls (P < 0.05). There were significant positive correlations between salivary MDA levels and periodontal clinical parameters as well as biomarkers for cardiovascular events (P < 0.001). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate salivary MDA levels in patients with ACS and their correlations with serum hsCRP and plasma fibrinogen levels. The results indicate that salivary MDA levels could be a biomarker for cardiovascular and/or periodontal disease.