Is there an association between periodontal disease and infertility? A systematic review.

Background: Today, idiopathic infertility is becoming more frequent, affecting more than 186 million people in the world. The presence of comorbidities makes patient management complex, requiring individualized infertility treatment. Periodontal diseases could contribute negatively to the management of infertility, increasing inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin resistance, and contributing negatively to the development and progression of comorbidities associated with these two entities. The aim of this systematic review is to explore whether there is an association between periodontal diseases and male and female infertility and deepen into the possible mechanisms underlying this association.

Material and methods: The studies analyzed in this research included a total of 4871 patients (732 men and 4139 women), were original studies with high quality, mostly with a control group. Authors who have investigated idiopathic infertility suggest that infertility is associated with diseases that present low-grade chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin resistance (such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome), which are in turn related to periodontal diseases.

Results: A higher prevalence of periodontal disease was found in patients with infertility compared with controls. Periodontal diseases could initially be mediated by a local and systemic proinflammatory environment, which favors a pro-oxidant state, leading to oxidative stress and, finally, irreversible destruction of the periodontal tissue. Insulin resistance, oxidative stress and inflammation are present in the pathologies associated with an increase in the prevalence and severity of periodontal diseases (such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome). Therefore, IR, low-grade chronic inflammation and the oxidative stress could be the pathophysiological mechanisms linking idiopathic infertility and periodontal diseases.

Conclusions: Studies suggest an association between infertility and periodontitis. Future researches are necessary to find causality factors. Studying the patient in a global and multidisciplinary way could help in the management and treatment of idiopathic infertility.