Acromegaly is protective for periodontal tissue - advanced chronic periodontitis is rare in acromegalics.

BACKGROUND

Acromegaly is a complex syndrome which influences the connective tissue and bone metabolism. Although the effects of excess growth hormone on bone tissue are well known, its effect on periodontal tissue is an enigma.

METHODS

A total of 23 acromegalic patients (mean age 48.13 ± 9.4 years) were included randomly in to this cross-sectional study. The control group consisted of 60 healthy (mean age 50.3 ± 8.5) individuals. All participants were examined by the same periodontist to evaluate periodontal disease status.

RESULTS

We studied a group of 23 acromegalic patients (11 females, 12 males) with estimated duration of disease from minimum of one year to 10 years (mean 4.52 ± 2.9 years). The frequency of advanced chronic periodontitis in acromegalics was significantly lower than in the healthy group (p = 0.002). Advanced periodontitis was 10 times more frequent in healthy population than in the acromegalics.

CONCLUSIONS

Advanced chronic periodontitis is 10 times less frequent in acromegalics than in healthy population. Acromegaly is a disease which seems to be protective for periodontal tissue (Tab. 4, Ref. 30).