Periodontitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Periodontitis, including details on treatment, causes, gingivitis, symptoms.

Inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Friedrich N, Kocher T, Wallaschofski H, Schwahn C, Lüdemann J, Kerner W, Völzke H

Institute for Community Medicine, Ernst Moritz Arndt University Greifswald, Germany. nele.friedrich@uni-greifswald.de

AIM: In a general adult population, we have demonstrated an inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies that is in line with the hygiene hypothesis suggesting a protective effect of infections against the development of allergies. The objective of the present study was to investigate the association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies in a type 1 diabetes mellitus population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study population comprised 170 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus aged 17-80 years. Respiratory allergies were present in 22 subjects. The attachment loss (AL) was measured. Periodontitis was defined according to the percentage of surfaces that exceeded 3 mm AL (healthy, mild, moderate, severe periodontal conditions). RESULTS: Our adjusted analyses revealed an inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies. For increasing AL, a trend towards a decreasing risk was present for respiratory allergies (p(trend)<0.05). Compared with subjects with healthy periodontal conditions, individuals with severe periodontal conditions had the lowest risk of respiratory allergies [odds ratios (OR) 0.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.01-0.39)], followed by subjects with moderate AL [OR 0.14 (95% CI 0.03-0.63)] and mild AL [OR 0.32 (95% CI 0.09-1.08)]. CONCLUSION: There is a strong inverse association between periodontitis and respiratory allergies in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. These findings further support the hygiene hypothesis.

Published 20 March 2008 in J Clin Periodontol, 35(4): 305-10.
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