Periodontal disease is a strong predictor of mortality resulting from cardiovascular disease and renal failure in American Indians who had type 2 diabetes, according to a presentation at the American Diabetes Association’s scientific session in June.
Researchers with the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases examined the effect of severe periodontal disease on overall and cause-specific mortality in 549 people with diabetes from the Pima tribe who were 45 years of age and older.
They diagnosed periodontal disease in about 60 percent of subjects using panoramic radiographs to determine percentage of interproximal crestal alveolar bone loss. They defined severe disease as a median bone loss of 50 percent.
During the 9
-year follow-up period, 172 subjects died of natural causes. Researchers determined the subjects’ underlying causes of death by reviewing death certificates and all available clinical and autopsy records.
They found that among subjects with severe periodontal disease, the death rate attributable to cardiovascular disease and renal failure was 7.2 and 3.2 times higher, respectively, than that among subjects who did not have periodontal disease.
Death rates attributable to other natural causes such as infection, cancer and liver disease were not affected by periodontal disease. After adjusting for age, sex, duration of diabetes, body mass index, serum cholesterol, hypertension, macroalbuminuria and current smoking, researchers found that periodontal disease predicted combined cardio-renal deaths.
