Quantifying the Association Between Self-Reported Diabetes and Periodontitis in the New Zealand Population

Background: This study aims to investigate the association between diabetes and periodontitis in the New Zealand (NZ) adult population.Methods: Data from two NZ national surveys (N = 2,048) were analyzed to compare estimates of the strength of the association between diabetes and periodontitis using two multivariate epidemiologic approaches (cohort and matched case-control studies). This was possible because the first survey provided participants for the second survey. Periodontitis cases were identified using 14 case definitions, including six severe definitions. The cohort study identified those with diabetes in 2006/07 and those with periodontitis in 2009 to determine the patients with diabetes odds of having periodontitis, using logistic regression modeling (adjusting for smoking status, sociodemographic, and dental characteristics). The matched case-control study identified cases of severe periodontitis in 2009 and compared their 2006/07 diabetic status with that of controls (individually matched on ...