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Periodontitis, obesity and diabetes mellitus
Bruno S. Herrera and Filippo Graziani
In the last two decades, researchers have looked more deeply into the association of periodontitis and common major systemic chronic pathologies such as atherosclerosis1, diabetes2, obesity3, and preterm labour4 with adverse pregnancy outcomes5. The rationale of the periodontal-systemic link likely involves two important mechanisms: systemic inflammation and bacteraemia. One of the most important systemic diseases in this field is diabetes mellitus (DM). DM is a group of metabolic diseases characterised by hyperglycaemia due to decrease in insulin secretion, insulin response or both. The chronic hyperglycaemia of diabetes is associated with long-term damage, dysfunction, and failure of various organs, especially the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart and blood vessels6. The vast majority of cases of diabetes fall into two broad aetiopathogenetic categories: type 1 (T1DM) and 2 (T2DM). T1DM is the absolute deficiency of insulin secretion due to autoimmune beta-cell destruction in the pancreas. T2DM develops when there is an abnormally increased resistance to the action of insulin and the body cannot produce enough insulin to overcome the resistance6,7.
1.1.1 Obesity
Overweight and obesity involve abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health and are considered major risk factors for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and also periodontitis8. Childhood obesity results in the same conditions, with premature onset, or with greater likelihood of developing these diseases as adults. Thus, the economic and psychosocial costs of obesity alone, as well as when coupled with these comorbidities are striking9. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)8, in 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight and, of these, over 650 million were obese. Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975 and most of the world’s population live in countries where overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. This epidemic is far from its resolution, since 41 million children under the age of 5 and over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 were overweight or obese in 20168.
Body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kg/height in metres2) provides the most useful population-level measure of overweight and obesity. However, it should be considered a rough guide because it may not correspond to the same degree of fatness in different individuals. For adults, the WHO defines overweight as a BMI greater than or equal to 25; and obesity a BMI greater than or equal to 308. Another way to assess this information is to use Z-scores (also known as standard deviation scores). It is obtained by dividing the median weight of the reference person or population by the standard deviation height or age of the reference population. Z-scores are sex-independent, thus permitting the evaluation of children’s growth status by combining sex and age groups (Table 1-1). There are several factors that increase obesity risk, such as parental diet and/or obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, famine exposure, smoking, and alcohol binge drinking and regular high consumption, especially in women9,13. In addition, to date, over 60 relatively common genetic markers have been implicated in elevated susceptibility to obesity9.
Table 1-1 Common classifications of body weight in adults and children9
| Age group | Age | Indicator | Normal weight | Overweight | Obese | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | ≥ 20 y | BMI (kg/m2) | 18.5–24.99 | 25.00 to 29.99 |
≥ 30.00
| |