To investigate the association of periodontal disease with diabetes, a research team headed by Sara G. Grossi, D.D.S., UB senior research scientist, concentrated on insulin resistance, a known precursor of active diabetes, in which cells do not absorb insulin from the blood stream. Persons with known diabetes or with a blood glucose level that reached diabetic levels were excluded from the analysis. Analysis showed that the index of insulin resistance increased as severity of periodontal disease increased. To clarify the relationship further, the researchers separated the study group into overweight versus non-overweight, using a body mass index of 27 as the dividing line.
Weight is an independent risk factor for insulin resistance and diabetes.
We know that when diabetics have an acute infection, their diabetes goes out of control. Results showed that persons with chronic lung conditions had more gum detachment than those with no lung disease, after correction for age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, income, frequency of dental visits, smoking and alcohol consumption. There also was a direct correlation between the amount of detachment and lung-disease risk. Subjects with gum detachment that exceeded 2 mm had a 40 percent greater risk of developing lung disease than those with attachment loss of less than 2 mm, results showed.