Periodontal disease among community-dwelling diabetics: evidence from a diabetes education and promotion event

Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory condition and a major cause of tooth loss. The public health impact of periodontal disease is great. Nearly half of adults in the United States are affected by some degree of periodontal disease. The prevalence of periodontal disease increases with age and is closely related to certain systemic diseases such as diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease associated with a hyper-inflammatory state. Well-controlled diabetes will help to improve the periodontal condition, decreasing the public health impact of the disease.\ud \ud Objective. The objective of this investigation was to study the prevalence of periodontal disease in a population of community-dwelling adults attending an all-day diabetes awareness and education event. \ud \ud Methods. Retrospective study of periodontal disease and its relationship with diabetes. Data were collected from attendees at the Diabetes Expo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an event sponsored by the American Diabetes Association. Informed consent was obtained. Comprehensive periodontal examinations were performed. Information on age, gender, education, smoking, diabetes, periodontal disease, and oral health were collected and analyzed.\ud \ud Results. Participants = 206 individuals; 97 respondents had periodontal disease and 147 did not. Ninety-three (93) individuals (47.9%) without periodontal disease had diabetes and fifty-four (54) individuals (36.3%) did not have diabetes; this finding was not significant (p=0.847). Good oral health was important among the people attending this event. Those with good oral health had less diabetes compared to people with poor oral health; this finding was statistically significant (p=0.004).\ud \ud Conclusion. Retrospective investigation of periodontal disease among community-dwelling diabetics in this study revealed no significant relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease (p=0.847), although oral health was an important, significant factor (p=0.004). Further prospective research with larger sample size is recommended to confirm these findings. \u