The Triangle of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Metabolic Dysfunction, and Periodontitis: Analysis of the Dental, Oral, Medical and Epidemiological (DOME) Records-Based Nationwide Research

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the associations of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with dental parameters, while controlling for socio-demographics, health-related habits, and each of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) components, consequences, and related conditions among a nationally representative sample of young and middle-aged adults. To that end, we analyzed data from the dental, oral, medical epidemiological (DOME) cross-sectional records-based study that combined comprehensive socio-demographic, medical, and dental databases of a nationally representative sample of military personnel. Included were 132,529 subjects aged 18–50 who attended military dental clinics for one year. The prevalence of NAFLD in the study population was 0.7% (938/132,529). The following parameters maintained a statistically positive association with NAFLD in the multivariate analysis (from highest to lowest OR): male sex (OR = 3.91 (2.29–6.66)), hyperlipidemia (OR = 3.69 (2.75–4.95)), diabetes Type 2 (OR = 3.14 (2.21–4.46)), hypertension (OR = 1.67 (1.30–2.14)), periodontitis (OR = 1.42 (1.06–1.89)), body mass index (BMI) (OR = 1.15 (1.13–1.18)), and age (OR = 1.08 (1.06–1.09)). The multivariate analysis established a profile of the “patient vulnerable to NAFLD”, including older age, male sex, and other MetS components, including diabetes type 2, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, BMI, and periodontitis. This profile aligns with the current new definition of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). We also analyzed the associations of the sum of the standard dental unit (SDU) scores of planned (SDU-P) and delivered (SDU-D) dental procedures per patient with NAFLD using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The SDU-P (planned) score exhibited excellent discrimination for NAFLD (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.718 (0.703–0.734)). Overall, the results confirmed the hypothesis of this research, i.e., that NAFLD is associated with dental morbidity, particularly with periodontitis.