Gum disease linked to diabetes

People with moderate to severe gum disease have a higher risk of developing diabetes. To investigate whether or not gum disease, also known as periodontal disease predicts the onset of type 2 diabetes, researchers from France studied 9,296 non-diabetic men and women, aged between 25 and 74 years. The participants had regular dental checkups.During the follow-up period of 17 years, the researchers noted that those who had gum disease at the beginning of the study were more likely to develop diabetes later on. It was found that men and women with moderate gum disease had twice the risk of developing diabetes as compared to those with healthy gums, while substantial tooth loss was linked to a 70 percent higher risk.Gum disease arises from bacterial infection, and it is thought that chronic, systemic inflammation in response to the bacteria may contribute to cardiovascular disease and may affect the body's sensitivity to the blood-sugar-regulating hormone insulin, thus causing diabetes. The findings do not prove that gum disease causes diabetes but suggests a temporal relation between the two conditions. The study also substantiates that gum disease is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

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