Relationship Between Oral Health and Clinical Osteoporosis Among Hospitalized Patients with and Without Diabetes

Objective Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with poor oral health and osteoporosis (OP). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between OP, periodontal disease (PD), and other dental and health outcomes in a cohort of hospitalized patients with and without DM. Method Using a cross-sectional study design, we enrolled consecutive hospitalized patients. We administered a questionnaire to gather demographic information, oral health history, smoking history, and history of OP. We inspected their dentition and reviewed their charts. Data were analyzed using t-tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regression models. Result Out of 301 patients enrolled, 275 had PD, 102 had DM, and 30 had OP. In univariate analyses, factors associated with OP included older age (p<0.001), female gender (p=0.046), presence of DM (p=0.049), and having more discharge medications (p=0.01). There was no significant relationship between PD and OP. In logistic regression analyses, age remained significantly associated with having OP among all hospitalized patients and in the non-DM populations. In the DM population, female gender was the only significant predictor for having OP. Conclusion Although we found no significant relationship between having PD and OP in our population, we found that among patients with DM, female gender predicted OP, whereas in patients without DM, age was a stronger predictor. Earlier screening for OP in female patients with DM may be useful in identifying and treating OP sooner in this population.