To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Periodontal Disease May Independently Predict New-Onset Diabetes
URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/227692.htm
Doctor's Guide
August 7, 2008

DALLAS -- August 7, 2008 -- Periodontal disease may be an independent predictor of incident type 2 diabetes, according to a study published in the July issue of Diabetes Care.

While diabetes has long been believed to be a risk factor for periodontal infections, this is the first study exploring whether the reverse might also be true.

"We found that over 2 decades of follow-up, individuals who had periodontal disease were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life when compared with individuals without periodontal disease," said lead author Ryan T. Demmer, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York.

The authors studied more than 9,000 participants without diabetes from a nationally representative sample of the US population. Of the patients, 817 went on to develop diabetes.

They compared the risk of developing diabetes among people with varying degrees of periodontal disease over the next 20 years. Individuals with elevated levels of periodontal disease were nearly twice as likely to become diabetic in that 20-year timeframe.

These findings remained after extensive multivariable adjustment for potential confounders, including age, smoking, obesity, hypertension, and dietary patterns.

"These data add a new twist to the association and suggest that periodontal disease may be there before diabetes," said Dr. Demmer.

In addition, the researchers found that those study participants who had lost all of their teeth were at intermediate risk for incident diabetes.

"This could be suggestive that the people who lost all of their teeth had a history of infection at some point, but subsequently lost their teeth and removed the source of infection," said Dr. Demmer.

"This is particularly interesting as it supports previous research originating from The Oral Infections and Vascular Disease Epidemiology Study (INVEST), which has shown that individuals lacking teeth are at intermediate risk for cardiovascular disease," said senior author Moïse Desvarieux, MD, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

The contributory role of periodontal disease in the development of type 2 diabetes is potentially of public health importance because of the prevalence of treatable periodontal diseases in the population and the pervasiveness of diabetes-associated morbidity and mortality.

However, observes Dr. Demmer, more studies are needed both to determine whether gum disease directly contributes to type 2 diabetes and, from there, whether treating the dental problem can prevent diabetes.


SOURCE: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet*
located at http://www.docguide.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Return to News Story Page

This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com
Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs.
All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc.
All rights reserved.