Figure 2.

Comparison of the concentration of urine biomarkers among groups classified by the severity of periodontitis. (a) β₂-MG/Cre. (b) α₁-MG/Cre. (c) NGAL/Cre. Results are shown as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM). The whole subjects were classified by the severity of periodontitis according to the criteria of the CDC/AAP as described in Materials and Methods. The number of subjects in each group was as follows. Severe periodontitis: n=39; moderate periodontitis: n=60; no or mild periodontitis: n=9. The significance of differences of urine biomarkers was determined by Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Bonferroni correction. ^∗Values statistically significant at ^∗P < 0.017. NGAL, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin; β₂-MG, β₂-microglobulin; α₁-MG, α₁-microglobulin; Cre, creatinine.