Interleukin-1 gene polymorphism, diabetes, and periodontitis: results from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP).

BACKGROUND

Periodontitis is a bacterial inflammatory disease leading to attachment loss with the consequence of tooth loss. There exists a multifactorial risk pattern including bacterial challenge, age, smoking, diabetes mellitus, as well as socioeconomic and genetic factors. An interleukin (IL)-1 haplotype is associated with periodontitis. We report the relationship between type 2 diabetes, the IL-1A/1B haplotype, and periodontitis in a population-based study.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional health survey in northeast Germany, we genotyped 1,515 subjects aged 40 to 60 years for the IL-1 genotype, examined their periodontal status, and assessed diabetes, including the history of diagnosed diabetes, the use of antidiabetic medications, and hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) measures.

RESULTS

Subjects with increased levels of HbA(1c) had more widespread and severe periodontal disease than normoglycemic subjects. There is a gene-environmental interaction because diabetic subjects bearing a variant IL-1 genotype C/T or T/T had an enhanced risk for periodontal disease in comparison with their IL-1 wild-type counterparts. Bleeding on probing (P = 0.007), attachment loss (P = 0.009), and number of teeth (P <0.001) were associated significantly with diabetes and the IL-1 genotype. Logistic regression and a matched-pair analysis confirmed these results.

CONCLUSION

Subjects with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk for periodontitis, which is aggravated further if combined with the variant IL-1A/1B genotype.