LAUSR

BACKGROUND The purpose of the study was to examine the association between total body bone mineral density (BMD) and periodontitis using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. METHODS AND MATERIALS We used 81 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMD at a P-value < 5 × 10-8 from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 66,628 individuals of European descent. The GWAS for periodontitis was derived from a meta-analysis of 7 cohort studies that included 17,353 cases and 28,210 controls of European ancestry. RESULTS MR showed no association between BMD and periodontitis (odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation increment in genetically predicted BMD = 1.00 (95% confidence interval: 0.92- 1.08). Leave-one-out analyses and pleiotropy-robust methods did not indicate any bias. CONCLUSIONS The MR study provided no evidence that BMD might be causally linked to periodontitis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.