J Periodontol. 2026 Apr 18. doi: 10.1002/jper.70121. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Periodontal disease (PD) is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), while periodontal treatment (PT) improves glycemic control in T2DM patients. Leptin and adiponectin belong to the adipokines family and have almost antagonistic functions in inflammatory processes and insulin sensitivity modulation. Hence, these hormones have been linked with both PD severity and glycemic control. This systematic review aims to assess the effect of PT on serum levels of leptin and adiponectin in patients with T2DM.
METHODS: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases and ClinicalTrials.gov website were searched up to January 5th, 2025. Randomized and non-randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs and CCTs) including patients with T2DM and PD who underwent PT and evaluated serum levels of leptin and adiponectin were included. Assessments of risk of bias and of certainty of evidence were performed.
RESULTS: Seven trials were eligible for qualitative synthesis. A statistically significant increase in serum adiponectin levels was observed across most studies, while no such consistency was observed for leptin. The overall level of certainty of evidence was judged low in the RCTs and very low in the CCTs. Meta-analysis could not be performed due to significant methodological heterogeneity.
CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary findings suggest a potential increase in adiponectin levels in T2DM patients, with possible implications for glycemic control. However, these results should be interpreted with caution due to the small number of studies and important methodological limitations. Well-designed studies with larger sample sizes and adequate adjustment for confounders are necessary to verify this observation.
PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: People with type 2 diabetes often also have periodontitis, an inflammatory gum disease, which may affect their overall health. The aim of this study was to investigate whether treating periodontitis could help improve certain substances in the blood-called adiponectin and leptin-that are linked to blood sugar control and inflammation. Several studies that tested this in people with both diabetes and periodontitis were included and most of them showed that, after periodontal treatment, levels of adiponectin (which helps reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity) increased. However, results for leptin were less clear. This suggests that taking care of gum health might support better diabetes management. The overall strength of evidence was low due to methodological limitations and heterogeneity among studies. Current findings should be interpreted cautiously, as available data remain preliminary. Still, more high-quality research is needed to fully understand how treating periodontitis may benefit people with diabetes.
PMID:42001255 | DOI:10.1002/jper.70121
