Cytokines in gingival crevicular fluid in elderly rheumatoid arthritis patients in a population-based cross-sectional study: RANTES was associated with periodontitis

Objective: We studied cytokines in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in a cross-sectional population-based cohort of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients ≥61 years of age with and without a diagnosis of periodontitis. Background data: Earlier studies on cytokines in GCF in RA patients have not given clear results. Methods: In a population-based cross-sectional study of patients ≥61 years of age, 233 RA patients were identified. 132 (57%) dentate RA patients participated. All participants received rheumatological and dental examinations, and had a panoramic radiograph taken. GCF was sampled on each patient. Interleukins 1-β (IL-1β), IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and chemokines RANTES/CCL5, eotaxin and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP-1) were analyzed in GCF. These cytokines were stratified for periodontitis, age, gender, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and anti-cyclic citrullinated protein (anti-CCP) status. Binary logistic regression analyses with periodontitis as outcome were performed adjusting for the above mentioned confounding factors including anti-rheumatic medication, disease duration and the cytokine in question. Results: Periodontitis was diagnosed in 80/132 (61%) of study participants. The 110 RA patients not participating were older, had a higher mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), had a higher mean DAS28ESR (Disease Activity Score 28 using ESR) and were less often on biologic treatment. Only RANTES was associated with periodontitis (p =.049, OR 1.001, 95% CI 1.000–1.002) in the binary logistic regression analyses. Conclusion: In this population-based elderly RA cohort, neither pro-inflammatory nor anti-inflammatory cytokines in GCF were clearly associated with a diagnosis of periodontitis.