Type 1 diabetes, glycemic traits, and risk of dental caries: a Mendelian randomization study

Li Tan; Meng-Mei Zhong; Ya-Qiong Zhao; Jie Zhao; Marie Aimee Dusenge; Yao Feng; Qin Ye; Jing Hu; Ze-Yue Ou-Yang; Ning-Xin Chen; Xiao-Lin Su; Qian Zhang; Qiong Liu; Hui Yuan; Min-Yuan Wang; Yun-Zhi Feng; Yue Guo

doi:10.3389/fgene.2023.1230113

Type 1 diabetes, glycemic traits, and risk of dental caries: a Mendelian randomization study

Front Genet. 2023 Oct 10:14:1230113. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1230113. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Li Tan¹, Meng-Mei Zhong¹, Ya-Qiong Zhao¹, Jie Zhao¹, Marie Aimee Dusenge¹, Yao Feng¹, Qin Ye¹, Jing Hu¹, Ze-Yue Ou-Yang¹, Ning-Xin Chen¹, Xiao-Lin Su¹, Qian Zhang¹, Qiong Liu¹, Hui Yuan¹, Min-Yuan Wang¹, Yun-Zhi Feng¹, Yue Guo¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Stomatology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.

Abstract

Background: Regarding past epidemiological studies, there has been disagreement over whether type 1 diabetes (T1DM) is one of the risk factors for dental caries. The purpose of this study was to determine the causative links between genetic susceptibility to T1DM, glycemic traits, and the risk of dental caries using Mendelian randomization (MR) approaches. Methods: Summary-level data were collected on genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of T1DM, fasting glucose (FG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting insulin (FI), and dental caries. MR was performed using the inverse-variance weighting (IVW) method, and sensitivity analyses were conducted using the MR-Egger method, weighted median, weighted mode, replication cohort, and multivariable MR conditioning on potential mediators. Results: The risk of dental caries increased as a result of genetic susceptibility to T1DM [odds ratio (OR) = 1.044; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.015-1.074; p = 0.003], with consistent findings in the replication cohort. The relationship between T1DM and dental caries was stable when adjusted for BMI, smoking, alcohol intake, and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in multivariable MR. However, no significant correlations between the risk of dental caries and FG, HbA1c, or FI were found. Conclusion: These results indicate that T1DM has causal involvement in the genesis of dental caries. Therefore, periodic reinforcement of oral hygiene instructions must be added to the management and early multidisciplinary intervention of T1DM patients, especially among adolescents and teenagers, who are more susceptible to T1DM.

Keywords: Mendelian randomization analysis; dental caries; diabetes mellitus; glycemic traits; multidisciplinary intervention; type 1.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81800788 and 81773339), the Science and Technology Department of Hunan Province, China (2017WK 2041, 2018SK52511, and 2022ZK4084), the Scientific Research Project of Hunan Provincial Health Commission (202208043514 and B202308056340), the Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (2022JJ30062), the Natural Science Foundation of Changsha City (kq2202403 and kq2202412), the Xiangya Clinical Medicine Database of the Central South University (2014-ZDYZ-1-16), the Education and Teaching Reform Research Project of the Central South University (2020jy165-3), the Research Project on Postgraduate Education and Teaching Reform of the Central South University (2021JGB072), the Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate (CX20220370), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of the Central South University (2022ZZTS0913 and 2022ZZTS0912). The Hunan Provincial Health Commission (202208043514), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81800788 and 81773339), the Science and Technology Department of Hunan Province, China (2017WK2041 and 2018SK52511), and the Natural Science Foundation of Changsha City (kq2202403 and kq2202412) all provided funding for this study.