Lipid-Lowering Agents Reduce Periodontitis in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes

Objectives: Recent studies suggest that lipid-lowering agents (LLA) may reduce chronic periodontitis, but it is unknown whether this benefit extends to people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We aimed to assess this among Hispanic adults with T2DM
Methods: We interviewed 253 Puerto Ricans aged 40 to 65 years with T2DM to assess their LLA use. Participants were classified as LLA non-users and users (<1 year, 1-3, and >3 years). Periodontitis was defined as “no/mild” or ‘moderate/severe’ based on the percent of sites with probing depth ≥ 4mm (1^st vs. 2^nd and 3^rd tertiles, respectively). We used multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the cross-sectional association between LLA use and periodontitis adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, education, BMI, missing teeth, HbA1c, and use of anti-inflammatory agents.
Results: Approximately 52% (N=132) reported taking LLA, 92.5% of which were statins. Among the users, 14.4% used for <1 year, 30.3% for 1-3 years, and 55.3% for >3 years, and the mean duration of LLA use was 3.1 years (SD=5.3). Nearly 63% (N=159) of the participants had moderate/severe periodontitis. LLA users showed lower moderate/severe periodontitis than LLA non-users, but the association was not significant (OR: 0.84; 95%CI: 0.48-1.47). Participants who reported taking LLA within 1 to 3 years had significantly lower periodontitis than LLA non-users or users < 1 year (OR: 0.40; 95%CI: 0.18-0.88). Extending LLA use up to 4 years still showed an association (1-4 years: OR: 0.45; 95%CI: 0.21-0.93; >4 years: OR: 1.00; 95%CI: 0.51-1.97).
Conclusions: Hispanic individuals with T2DM using lipid-lowering agents for 1-4 years had lower chronic periodontitis than individuals with T2DM taking lipid-lowering agents for less than a year or none.