Self-perceived oral health of people with and without diabetes mellitus: results of the study GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS

TL;DR

People with diabetes in Germany are more likely to report poor oral health than those without diabetes, even after adjusting for other factors.

Contribution

First population-based study in Germany showing a link between diabetes and self-perceived oral health.

Findings

41.2% of people with diabetes rated their oral health as fair to very poor, compared to 27.5% without diabetes.

The association remained significant after adjusting for sociodemographic and behavioral factors (PR 1.22, p < 0.001).

The link was observed in both men and women.

Abstract

Self-perceived oral health reflects the individual’s point of view. Both subjective (e.g. pain, aesthetic aspects) and objective criteria (e.g. oral diseases, functional limitations) are included in the assessment. Oral diseases interact with noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus.

Data basis is the study German Health Update (GEDA 2019/2020-EHIS). In the telephone interview, respondents were asked about the presence of diabetes in the last 12 months and the state of their teeth and gums. Prevalences, prevalence ratios (PR) and p-values from Poisson regressions were calculated for people aged 18 years and older (N = 22,613).

People with diabetes were more likely to rate their oral health as fair to very poor than people without diabetes (41.2 % vs. 27.5 %). The association between diabetes and fair to very poor self-perceived oral health persisted after statistical control for sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics (PR 1.22, p < 0.001). This applies to both women and men.

Based on a population-representative sample, it was shown for the first time for Germany that there is an association between diabetes and oral health in adulthood. These results support international research findings. Greater interdisciplinary cooperation between physician groups who treat people with diabetes and dentists is required.