Periodontal status of diabetics compared with nondiabetics: a meta-analysis.
BACKGROUND
This meta-analysis was conducted to assess the association between diabetes mellitus and periodontal diseases by comparing the extent and severity of periodontal diseases between diabetics and nondiabetics.


METHODS
A literature search was performed using MEDLINE database for published studies from January 1970 through October 2003 with manual search for references in relevant studies. This meta-analysis was based on 18 comparative cross-sectional studies, three prospective cohort studies and baseline data of two clinical trials that compared oral hygiene, gingival and periodontal status between diabetics and nondiabetics. Heterogeneity was obvious among included studies; therefore, the analysis using random-effects model was conducted.


RESULTS
This study demonstrated that diabetics had significantly worse oral hygiene as measured by the average of plaque index (P1I), higher severity of gingival disease as measured by the average of gingival index (GI) and higher severity of periodontal disease as measured by the average of probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL). However, diabetics had similar extent of oral hygiene, gingival and periodontal disease as measured by percentages of surfaces or sites with specific scores of P1I, GI, bleeding on probing (BOP), PPD and CAL.


CONCLUSIONS
Diabetics had a significantly higher severity but the same extent of periodontal disease than nondiabetics.
Khader
Yousef S
YS
Department of Community Medicine, Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid 22110, P.O. BOX 121, Jordan. yousef.k@excite.com
Dauod
Ali S
AS
El-Qaderi
Saleh S
SS
Alkafajei
Ahmed
A
Batayha
Walid Q
WQ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003728:Dental Calculus; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017622:Periodontal Attachment Loss; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010512:Periodontal Index; D010514:Periodontal Pocket; D012720:Severity of Illness Index