<p>More than 20 million infants in the world (15.5 % of all births) are born with low birth weight. Ninety-five % of them are in developing countries. Oral colonization of Gramnegative anaerobes has  / been implicated as a risk factor for preterm delivery of low birth weight (PLBW) infants. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between periodontal pathogens and pre-term  / delivery of low birth weight (PLBW) infants. The study sample included 200 randomly selected women admitted to the department of obstetrics-gynecology of the teaching hospital of Butare in  / Rwanda. Mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire in order to identify factors which might pose a health risk to them and their infants. Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) was collected from each quadrant of the mother&rsquo / s month (using paper points) within 24 hours of delivery. Ten ml of foetal cord serum samples were collected at delivery and 10 ml of maternal serum samples were  / collected within 48 of delivery. GCF was examined by PCR for the presence of 5 periodontopathogens and ELISA was used for the evaluation of cytokines (IL-6 and IL-10) and immunoglobulins (IgM, IgG) in foetal cord and maternal blood against the periodontopathogens. P. intermedia showed significant associations either on its own or in combinations with most indicators of  / periodontal disease used in this study, while Aa and members of the red complex were significantly associated with gum bleeding and reduced frequency of tooth brushing. A strong association  / between PLBW and maternal and foetal cord serum sample levels of IL-10 was observed. Also, a good association was observed between PLBW and FCB sample levels of IL-6. Significant  / associations were observed between PLBW and maternal IgG against the different peridontopathogens. The findings of this study may suggest that the levels of maternal IgG and foetal IgM  / against the different periodontopathogens are associated with dissemination of maternal periodontopathogens to the foetus thereby illiciting an inflammatory response which contributes to  / PLBW. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UNWC/oai:UWC_ETD:http%3A%2F%2Fetd.uwc.ac.za%2Findex.php%3Fmodule%3Detd%26action%3Dviewtitle%26id%3Dgen8Srv25Nme4_7812_1373278598 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Claude, Bayingana |
| Source Sets | Univ. of Western Cape |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis and dissertation |
| Format | |
| Coverage | ZA |
| Rights | Copyright: University of the Western Cape |
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