Periodontitis links to exacerbation of myocardial dysfunction in subjects with type 2 diabetes

Background and objective: Subjects with diabetes and periodontitis are at high risk of cardiovascular events, while the subclinical alterations of cardiac function in this cohort remain unclear. This cross-sectional study investigated the association of periodontitis with left ventricle (LV) structural and functional abnormalities in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Material and methods: A total of 115 subjects with T2DM were divided into Control group (n = 32) with no or mild periodontitis, and the rest with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis (CP) were further categorized into CP-1 (n = 41) and CP-2 (n = 42) based on disease severity. Echocardiography was performed to precisely assess (a) LV hypertrophy by LV mass index (LVMi); (b) LV diastolic function by tissue Doppler imaging index E/e' ratio; and (c) LV systolic function by speckle tracking derived global longitudinal strain (GLS).

Results: Overall, a linear trend in LVMi, E/e', and GLS existed among the Control, CP-1, and CP-2 groups, respectively (P < 0.05). After adjustments of multiple confounders, CP-2 subjects showed significantly higher E/e' (log scale, 2.22 ± 0.05 vs 2.07 ± 0.06, P < 0.01) and GLS (-17.42 ± 0.46% vs -18.95 ± 0.54%, P < 0.05) than the Controls. Multivariate analysis revealed that sites% with probing depth ≥4 mm and sites% with clinical attachment loss ≥5 mm were independent indicators for E/e' (β = 0.005 and β = 0.002, P < 0.01) and GLS (β = 0.03 and β = 0.02, P < 0.05) , respectively. Moreover, the number of missing teeth was significantly associated with LVMi (β = 0.01, P < 0.01).

Conclusion: This study provides the first evidence that severe periodontitis is significantly associated with the exacerbation of LV diastolic and systolic dysfunction in subjects with T2DM.