Al- Anbar Medical Journal

Abstract

Background:Being diabetic in itself may not place a person at increased risk of fungal infection, unless diabetic control is very poor, as evidenced by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration of more than 12%.Aim of Study:Assessment of the value of HbA1c to predict the prevalence of oral yeast infection in diabetic patients in multiple variable analysis including age, sex, smoking and dental histories.Methods:Occurrence of fungal infection in 51 diabetics was analyzed statistically in relation to different variables including age, sex, smoking, denture wearing and diabetic control.Results: The prevalence of oral yeast infection in our population was 49%. HbA1c above 12% was strongly associated with oral yeast infection (odd ratio= 13) (p<0.001), risk of oral candidiasis among diabetics wearing dentures was significantly higher than among dentate diabetics (odd ratio=4.78). After controlling for the effect of denture wearing, HbA1c> 12% remained highly predictive of oral yeast infection, particularly among diabetics without dentures. Key words:Diabetes mellitus, fasting blood sugar, urinary glucose concentration, glycosylated hemoglobin, oral candidiasis.