Nifedipine Intake Increases the Risk for Periodontal Destruction in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background: This study investigated the possible association of nifedipine (NIF) intake and diabetes mellitus (DM) with periodontal destruction. Methods: A group of Chinese subjects (N = 1,083, age: 63 – 8.7 years) were screened. Three hundred fifty-eight non-smokers with hypertension were selected for the study and were grouped based on DM status as non-DM and DM groups, DM(-) and DM(+) respectively. NIF(+) and NIF(-) indicated NIF intake or not. The groups were further divided: NIF(-)/DM(- )( n= 135); NIF(+)/DM(- )( n= 108); NIF(-)/DM(+ )( n= 64); and NIF(+)/DM(+ )( n= 51). The periodontal conditions in anterior teeth were assessed using plaque index, sulcus bleeding index, clinical attachment loss (AL), probing depth (PD), and the number of missing teeth. Results: Using analysis of covariance, NIF intake was associated with mean PD and extent of PD ‡4 mm in the non-DM and DM groups. The subjects in the NIF(+)/DM(+ )s ubgroup showed greater mean AL and percentage of sites with AL ‡5 mm and AL ‡7 mm than those in NIF(-)/DM(+) subgroup, whereas no significant difference existed between subjects in NIF(-)/DM(-) and NIF(+)/DM(-) subgroups. The NIF(+)/ DM(+) subgroup exhibited a greater percentage of sites with AL ‡5 mm (35.5%) compared to the other three subgroups (24.7% for NIF[-]/DM[-], P = 0.004; 25.0% for NIF[+]/DM[-], P = 0.007; and 25.2% for NIF[-]/DM[+], P = 0.016). Logistic regression analysis showed that the NIF(+)/DM(+) subgroup had a significantly higher risk for having >10% of sites with AL ‡5 mm compared to the NIF(-)/DM(-) subgroup (odds ratio [OR] = 2.9; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2 to 7.4; P = 0.022), the NIF(+)/DM(-) subgroup (OR = 3.1; 95% CI: 1.2 to 8.1; P = 0.020), and the NIF(-)/DM(+) subgroup (OR = 5.1; CI: 1.8 to 14.3; P = 0.002). Conclusion: NIF intake may increase the risk for periodontal destruction in patients with type 2 DM. J Periodontol 2008; 79:2054-2059.