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Periodontics · single question

What is the most accurate description of the relationship between diabetes and periodontal disease?

  1. Diabetes drives an exaggerated inflammatory response (via advanced glycation end-product/AGE-RAGE interactions and impaired neutrophil function), worsening periodontal tissue destruction; it also causes microvascular changes characterized by blood vessel wall THICKENING (not thinning), impairing oxygen/nutrient delivery and waste removal
  2. Diabetes causes blood vessel wall thinning, which worsens periodontal disease
  3. Diabetes has no meaningful relationship with periodontal disease
  4. Diabetes only affects periodontal disease through dietary sugar intake, with no inflammatory or vascular component
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Correct answer: A. Diabetes drives an exaggerated inflammatory response (via advanced glycation end-product/AGE-RAGE interactions and impaired neutrophil function), worsening periodontal tissue destruction; it also causes microvascular changes characterized by blood vessel wall THICKENING (not thinning), impairing oxygen/nutrient delivery and waste removal

Diabetes worsens periodontal disease through an exaggerated inflammatory response (AGE-RAGE interaction amplifying cytokine release and impairing neutrophil function) and through diabetic microangiopathy, which causes blood vessel wall THICKENING (basement membrane thickening), not thinning — this impairs oxygen and nutrient delivery and waste removal in periodontal tissues, contributing to a bidirectional relationship where periodontal disease can also worsen glycemic control.

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