Prevalence of periodontal disease among adults in India: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

We designed this systematic review of the available literature to measure the pooled prevalence of periodontal disease among Indian adults.

METHODS

An electronic search was conducted for studies assessing the prevalence of periodontal disease (gingivitis and periodontitis) in India. The search yielded forty studies, of which thirty eligible cross-sectional studies assessing the prevalence among those 18 years and above were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed. Meta-analyses were conducted for periodontitis outcomes, stratified for different covariates like age groups, gender, geographic region, population group, type of index and study quality. Pooled prevalence was used to estimate overall effect, with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS

A total of 92,219 adults participated in 30 studies included for qualitative analysis. Studies utilizing convenience sampling were excluded from quantitative analysis. Pooled prevalence estimates of periodontitis and gingivitis were assessed on from 24 to 21 studies respectively. We found that overall prevalence of periodontal disease was 51% (CI: 41.9-60.1) and gingivitis was 46.6% (CI: 37.8-55.5). Prevalence of mild to moderate periodontitis was 26.2% (CI: 21.1-31.6), while for severe periodontitis it was 19% (CI: 14.3-24.2). Participants 65 years or above had highest proportion of severe periodontitis (32.7%, CI: 23.7-42.5). Urban population showed the highest prevalence of mild to moderate periodontitis 22.7% (CI: 17.3-28.5). Females had lower prevalence (34.4%) of the periodontitis than males (42.2%). The methodological heterogeneity of included studies was low.

CONCLUSION

Half of Indian adults suffer from some form of periodontal disease. There is need to adopt uniform and accurate measurement tools for recording periodontal condition.