Epidemiological Survey on the Prevalence of Periodontitis and Diabetes Mellitus in Uyghur Adults from Rural Hotan Area in Xinjiang

BACKGROUND AND AIMS This study was designed to explore the relationship between periodontitis and diabetes mellitus (DM) in Uygur adults from Xinjiang. METHODS AND RESULTS Data were obtained using questionnaire and oral examination. Participants (48.87 ± 13.72 yr) were categorized into periodontitis and non-periodontitis groups in accordance with the chronic periodontitis diagnostic criteria. Based on gum inflammation, bleeding on probing, periodontal pocket depth and attachment loss, patients were further divided into mild, moderate and severe periodontitis groups. Among 962 subjects, 453 (47.1%) suffered from chronic periodontitis with a prevalence of type 2 DM and impaired fasting glucose of 9.5% and 11.4%, respectively. In the periodontitis group, the prevalence of type 2 DM was 75.6% compared with 22.4% in the non-periodontitis group. Likewise, the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was 71.3% and 28.7% in periodontitis and non-periodontitis groups, respectively. The univariate logistic regression analysis revealed moderate and severe periodontitis as risk factors for DM (OR = 3.4, OR = 2.9). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that moderate periodontitis is independently associated with DM (OR = 4). CONCLUSIONS Our data revealed that prevalence of DM is overtly higher in periodontitis patients than in individuals without periodontitis. Furthermore, moderate periodontitis is considered an independent risk factor for type 2 DM.