Causal association between oral disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A Mendelian Randomization study

Abstract

Abstract Background The association between oral diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been revealed by many epidemiological studies in clinical aspects. Therefore, we elucidate genetic relationships using Mendelian randomization (MR) in this study. Method We utilized MR analysis with summary datasets from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to investigate the causal relationship between COPD and 12 oral traits such as periodontitis and denture and ensured that there were no confounders like smoking, and every F-value was greater than 10. Inverse variance weighting (IVW) was applied with MR analysis as the primary outcome. Additionally, the horizontal pleiotropy was assessed by MR-PRESSO methods, and the heterogeneity was detected using Cochran's Q statistics. Result This study found a significant causal effect of implant dentures on COPD by univariate and multivariate MR (OR = 1.077, 95%CI = 1.044 ~ 1.111, p_adjust = 6.58E-05). Although univariate MR showed that excessive attrition of teeth had a significant causal effect on later COPD (OR = 1.061, 95%CI = 1.020 ~ 1.104, p_adjust = 0.037), this causal relationship was not found in multivariate MR. This study found no significant effect of periodontitis on COPD (p > 0.05), either acute or chronic. Conclusion Our MR Analysis findings suggested that implant dentures and excessive attrition of teeth significantly promotes the risk of COPD and elder COPD, respectively. However, the evidence for a causal relationship between periodontitis and COPD is still insufficient and previous studies may have been affected by confounding factors.