Prevalence, Patterns, and Predictors of Oral Morbidity in Patients With Diabetes: Evidence From the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) and periodontal disease share a complex bidirectional relationship, resulting in worsening of oral health with persistent impairment of glycemic control. Objective The objective of this study was to ascertain the burden, patterns, and predictors of oral morbidities in older patients with DM, including their health-seeking behavior in India. Materials and methods We used the nationally representative Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) wave-1 dataset (2017) to analyze data from 8,564 patients with DM aged ≥45 years. Results The median duration of DM in the participants was eight years. The weighted prevalence of at least one or more self-reported oral health morbidities was 59.85% (95% CI: 56.57% to 63.13%) including tooth pain (33.47%), loose teeth (29.98%), swelling in gums (10.08%), and bleeding gums (9.1%). Furthermore, patients with DM had a substantial burden of total (8.84%) and partial edentulism (66.35%). On adjusted analysis, female gender, higher educational status, higher wealth quintile, tobacco use, alcohol use, and greater duration of DM had significantly higher odds of having oral health morbidities excluding caries. Only 79 (0.12%) patients reported visiting dentists in the previous 12 months. Conclusions Integration of oral healthcare services with existing diabetes care in outpatient settings should be strengthened to improve oral health related quality of life.