Haptoglobin gene polymorphisms in peri-implantitis and chronic periodontitis

Aim The haptoglobin–hemoglobin (Hp–Hb) complex plays a significant role in regulating immune responses and acts as a bacteriostatic agent. Haptoglobin polymorphisms result in different Hb binding affinities. This study sought to assess whether Hp 2-2 could be a genetic determinant for increasing the risk of peri-implantitis and chronic periodontitis. Methods Of the Iranian subjects referred to the Department of Periodontics, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, 203 were entered into the study, including 117 patients and 86 periodontally healthy individuals. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed for genotyping. Data were analyzed by Kruskal–Wallis test using the SPSS statistics software package. Results The prevalence of Hp 2-2, 2-1, and 1-1 did not differ significantly between patients and healthy subjects (P > 0.05). The highest frequencies of Hp 1-1, 2-1, and 2-2 genotypes were seen in the control (7%), peri-implantitis (51%) and periodontitis (64%) groups, respectively. Conclusions Haptoglobin polymorphisms may not play a role in development of peri-implantitis or chronic periodontitis among Iranians but we strongly suggest researchers to evaluate this polymorphism in further studies on larger sample sizes, different populations, and other types of periodontitis.