Morphologic and cytomorphometric analysis of exfoliated buccal mucosal cells in diabetes patients

Background : It is now known that the disease process of diabetes has effects on various tissues of the body. The following study was done to analyze the effects of diabetes on oral tissues. Aims : To study the morphology and cytomorphometry of the cells obtained in cytologic smears from the buccal mucosa of diabetic patients. Materials and Methods : Smears were obtained from clinically normal buccal mucosa of 50 randomly selected diabetic patients attending the diabetic clinic and the out-patient department and of five healthy subjects as control. Smears were stained using Papanicolaou method, and using a micrometer mean values of nuclear diameter (ND), cell diameter (CD), cytoplasmic diameter (CyD) and nucleus: cytoplasm ratio (N: C ratio) were obtained for each patient. Diabetic patients were divided into four groups based on the glycosylated hemoglobin (GHb) values for comparison. Statistical analysis used : Students T-test and Fishers F-test. Results : Statistically significant increase in ND (P=0.0367) was found in diabetic patients compared to controls. Degree of glycemic control significantly affected ND (P=0.0042) and N: C ratio (P=0.0055). In general, as the severity of diabetes increases, ND and N: C ratio rise gradually. Conclusions : Diabetes produces definite morphologic and cytomorphometric changes in the buccal mucosa of patients. However, further research in this direction is indicated, to analyze the significance of these findings as a tool for diabetes detection, as well as to obtain deeper insights into its effects on various tissues.