Research progress in the association of periodontitis and metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic abnormalities including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension and atherogenic dyslipidemia and is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by plaque biofilm, which shares risk factors with the major noncommunicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory disease. Many cross-sectional studies have investigated the link between periodontal disease and metabolic syndrome showing that the odds of periodontitis increase with the number of metabolic syndrome components present in an individual although the causal relationship between them has not been determined yet. In this paper, the research progress on the relationship and mechanism of periodontitis with the main characteristics of metabolic syndrome are presented in order to provide new evidences for the prevention and intervention of metabolic syndrome and periodontitis.