Relationship between vitamin C and the severity of periodontitis
Wed Apr 18, 2007 4:15 pm (PST)
Java project on periodontal diseases: the relationship between
vitamin C and the severity of periodontitis
Citation: Journal of Clinical Periodontology 34 (4), 299–304
Authors: Amaliya, M. F. Timmerman, F. Abbas, B. G. Loos, G. A. Van
der Weijden, A. J. Van Winkelhoff, E. G. Winkel, U. Van der Velden
Objective: To study the relationship between vitamin C and the
severity of periodontitis.
Material and Methods: The study population consisted of subjects
from the Malabar/Purbasari tea estate on West Java, Indonesia. In
2002, clinical measurements were performed in 128 subjects,
including evaluation of plaque, bleeding on probing, pocket depth
and attachment loss. In 2005, 123 out of 128 subjects could be
retrieved who were present at the examination of 2002. Blood samples
were taken to measure plasma vitamin C levels. Information about the
subject's dietary habit was obtained by means of a personal
interview guided by a questionnaire.
Results: Plasma levels of vitamin C ranged from 0.02 to 34.45 mg/l
with a mean of 7.90 mg/l (±5.35). The correlation coefficient
between plasma vitamin C level and periodontal attachment loss was
−0.199 (p<0.05); stepwise linear regression revealed that vitamin C
levels explained 3.9% of the variance in periodontal attachment
loss. Subjects with vitamin C deficiency (14.7% of the study
population) had more attachment loss compared with those with
depletion or normal plasma vitamin C values.
Conclusion: The negative association between plasma vitamin C levels
and periodontal attachment loss suggests that vitamin C deficiency may contribute
