Relation between ultra-sensitive C-reactive protein, diabetes and periodontal disease in patients with and without myocardial infarction.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of diabetes and periodontal disease in us-CRP, an inflammatory marker in patients with and without acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Subjects and methods: A case-control study was conducted in 401 subjects aged between 30 and 75 years, living in Bogotá D.C. (Colombia). Patients arriving at the emergency room of the San Ignacio University Hospital with AMI were included into the case group. The control group was defined as those subjects without AMI. The following blood tests were performed: complete blood count (CBC), glycemia, total cholesterol, triglycerides, cHDL, cLDL, and us-CRP. Patients with infections or antibiotic treatment within the last three months, who had received periodontal treatment within the six months prior to the study entry, had oral ulcerations, or less than seven teeth were excluded from the study. Periodontal disease was diagnosed based on the 1999 Armitage's classification.

Results: The mean us-CRP value found in diabetic patients with severe chronic periodontitis was 5.31 mg/L (SD 6.82), and 2.38 mg/L (SD 4.42) in non-diabetic patients, being statistically significant (p = 0.000).

Conclusion: Diabetes had an impact in periodontal disease and us-CRP. In patients with AMI, DM and PD considerably increased the us-CRP.