Salivary and Serum Levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in Diabetic Patients with Periodontal Disease: A Review Article

Context: 

Periodontal disease is a complication of diabetes mellitus. Both periodontal disease and diabetes mellitus stimulate the release of proinflammatory cytokines.

 The aim of the present study was to evaluate the salivary and serum levels of interleukin (IL-6) and IL-8 levels in type II diabetic patients with periodontal disease.
Data Sources: The present study is a narrative review. A literature review was conducted using the electronic databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar as well as Persian databases such as SID, Magiran, and IranMedex from 2005 to 2019, particularly the last 10 years. The appropriate keywords were searched, including “Diabetes Mellitus”, “IL-6”, “IL-8”, Periodontal Disease”, “Saliva”, and “Serum”.

 The present study analyzed four articles from the case-control series, including 42 to 90 patients. The results showed that the level of salivary concentration of IL-6 was increased in patients with periodontal disease with/without diabetes mellitus. A marginally statically significant correlation was found in salivary and serum levels of IL-6 after applying spearman’s nonparametric test. However, the relevant serum analysis showed only a minor influence of type II diabetes and periodontal disease on IL-6 serum levels. There was no significant difference between the periodontitis patients and IL-6 and IL-8 serum levels. A positive correlation was found between glycemic control and the severity of periodontal disease.

 The intensity of periodontal disease was high in patients with type II diabetes, underlining the need for special oral health care for these patients. The level of salivary IL-6 can be considered as a main biomarker in the diagnosis of diabetes and periodontal disease. The serum levels of the IL-6 and IL-8 showed no significant difference in patients with periodontitis.