On Friday 6 September at 14:00, Fernando Valentim Bitencourt defends his PhD dissertation entitled "Diabetes complications, dyslipidaemia and the burden of periodontitis".

The prevalence of periodontitis, an inflammatory condition that affects the tissues supporting teeth, is three times greater in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) than in those without T2DM. Despite this prevalence, the relationship between periodontitis and diabetes-related complications has remained unclear until now. The PhD studies, conducted through population-based studies, analyzed data from participants across US and Denmark: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and the Health in Central Denmark (HICD) study. The findings reveal that periodontitis co-occurs with other diabetes-related complications, influenced by factors such as age, sex, obesity, physical activity, diet, socioeconomic status, smoking, HbA1c levels, and dyslipidaemia. The study also demonstrated that higher HbA1c levels and obesity had a significant indirect effect on periodontitis through dyslipidaemia. In addition, diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, and both complications increase the likelihood of developing periodontitis by 1.2 to 1.5 times. Furthermore, dyslipidaemia was shown to significantly modify the odds of 'moderate/severe' periodontitis, particularly when multiple diabetic microvascular complications are present. These findings underscore the need to include periodontitis in prevention and management strategies for diabetes-related complications, especially for patients with dyslipidaemia.

The summary is written by the PhD student. 

The defence is public and takes place in Auditorium 1 (1612-018), School of Dentistry, Aarhus University. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Fernando Valentim Bitencourt

Mail: fvbitencourt@dent.au.dk

Phone: (+45) 87167400

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