[PHNUTR-L] Diabetes can lead to gum disease in childhood; onset is younger than previously recognized

[Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD]

Colleagues, the following is FYI and does not necessarily reflect my own
opinion. I have no further knowledge of the topic. If you do not wish to
receive these posts, set your email filter to filter out any messages
coming from   @nutritionucanlivewith.com    and the program will remove
anything coming from me.
---------------------------------------------------------
Public release date: 8-Feb-2006
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/cumc-dcl020806.php

Contact: Craig LeMoult
cel2113 at columbia.edu
212-305-0820
Columbia University Medical Center

Diabetes can lead to gum disease in childhood; onset is younger than 
previously recognized

Columbia research highlights importance of early oral health screenings
New research from Columbia University Medical Center has shown that the 
destruction of the gums can start in diabetic children as young as six 
years old. While the link between diabetes and periodontal disease was 
previously established, it was believed that the regression of gums 
began much later and increased with age.

The study, a collaboration among researchers at the Columbia University 
College of Dental Medicine, Mailman School of Public Health and Naomi 
Berrie Diabetes Center, is published in the February issue of Diabetes Care.

"Our research illustrates that programs to prevent and treat periodontal 
disease should be considered a standard of care for young patients with 
diabetes," said Ira B. Lamster, D.D.S, M.M.Sc., dean of the College of 
Dental Medicine and principal investigator on the study, which is funded 
by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

"Other studies have shown that patients with diabetes are significantly 
less likely than those without diabetes to have seen a dentist within 
the past year," said Robin Goland, M.D., co-director of the Naomi Berrie 
Diabetes Center and a co-author of the paper. "This was due to a 
perceived lack of need, so clearly it's important that physicians and 
dentists and their patients with diabetes learn that they need to focus 
extra attention on oral health."

Oral health screenings are offered to all pediatric patients between the 
ages of 6 and 18 at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, New York City's 
only comprehensive center for diabetes treatment, education and research.

The Columbia study clinically assessed dental cavities and periodontal 
disease in 182 children and adolescents, ages six to 18 years old, with 
diabetes, and 160 nondiabetic control subjects.

The children with diabetes had significantly more dental plaque and more 
gingival inflammation than children without diabetes. When gingivitis is 
left untreated, it can advance to periodontitis, in which the attachment 
of the gum and the supporting bone pull away from the teeth and form 
pockets that collect even more plaque. If left untreated, periodontitis 
can lead to tooth loss. Early signs of periodontal disease were found in 
nearly 60 percent of diabetic children in the six to 11-year-old group, 
twice the percentage found in the nondiabetic children in that age range 
- far younger than was previously believed to be affected. In the 12 to 
18-year-old study group, nearly 80 percent of patients with diabetes had 
early periodontal changes.

The study is continuing, and will ultimately include 700 total 
participants. "It will be extremely interesting to see the results from 
the entire cohort and to further explore if specific diabetes-associated 
factors are related to the early development of periodontal disease" 
said Evanthia Lalla, D.D.S., M.S., associate professor of dentistry at 
the College of Dental Medicine and lead author of the study.

###

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in 
pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences 
education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders 
in health care and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, 
scientists, nurses, dentists, and public health professionals at the 
College of Physicians & Surgeons, the College of Dental Medicine, the 
School of Nursing, the Mailman School of Public Health, the biomedical 
departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied 
research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center 
researchers are leading the discovery of novel therapies and advances to 
address a wide range of health conditions. www.cumc.columbia.edu

For more information about the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, go to: 
http://nbdiabetes.org/
-- 
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar at nutritionucanlivewith.com >
"Ask the Parkinson Dietitian"  http://www.parkinson.org/
"Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease"
"Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy"
http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/