From Hyperglycemia to Periodontitis and Back: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Bidirectional Link Between Diabetes and Periodontal Disease

Dr. Dhirendra Kumar Singh

Abstract: Background: Periodontitis and diabetes mellitus are highly prevalent chronic diseases that appear to influence each other through shared inflammatory and metabolic pathways (1-4). Methods: Electronic databases were searched for prospective cohort studies evaluating diabetes as a risk factor for incident or progressive periodontal disease, cohort studies evaluating periodontitis as a risk factor for incident diabetes or worsening glycaemic control, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in adults with diabetes (4-7). Adjusted relative risks (RRs), hazard ratios (HRs), and mean differences (MDs) were pooled using random-effects models. Results: Cohort data show that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of incident periodontal disease (pooled RR approximately 1.2-1.3), while periodontitis is associated with a similar increase in incident diabetes (4,8,9). Meta-analyses of RCTs demonstrate that non-surgical periodontal therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes and periodontitis reduces HbA1c by about 0.3-0.6 percentage points at 3-6 months compared with controls and lowers C-reactive protein (6,7,10-12). Conclusion: Current evidence supports a bidirectional association between diabetes and periodontitis and indicates that periodontal therapy yields modest but clinically relevant improvements in glycaemic control. Incorporating periodontal management into comprehensive diabetes care is justified.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Periodontitis, Bidirectional relationship, Glycaemic control, Meta-analysis

How to Cite?: Dr. Dhirendra Kumar Singh, "From Hyperglycemia to Periodontitis and Back: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Bidirectional Link Between Diabetes and Periodontal Disease", Volume 14 Issue 12, December 2025, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 1590-1593, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR251217100451, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR251217100451