Relationship between Type 2 Diabetic Retinopathy and Periodontal Disease in Iranian Adults

Periodontal disease in diabetic patients can compromise a patient's ability to maintain a proper metabolic control and may be associated with diabetic complication. This study was designed to evaluate the frequency of periodontal disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and how this was related with the presence of diabetic retinopathy (DR). A comparison was made of periodontal parameters (plaque index (PI), community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN), periodontal disease severity measured in quartiles of probing depth (PD), and clinical attachment loss (CAL)) in a group of diabetic patients with retinopathy (n = 84) versus a group of diabetic patients without retinopathy (n = 129). In addition, 73 age- and sex-matched individuals were selected to serve as the control group. Analysis was performed to evaluate the relationships between periodontal disease and DR. In terms of PI, no statistically significant differences were observed, so, oral hygiene was similar in both groups. Diabetic patients with retinopathy had greater CPITN (P < 0.001) and more severe periodontal disease (P < 0.001) than no retinopathy. Also, our results indicated a relationship between type 2 DM and periodontal disease. The patients with diabetes retinopathy appear to show increased periodontal disease susceptibility.