Understanding the consequences of leisure sedentary behavior on periodontitis: A two-step, multivariate Mendelian randomization study

Zhonghua Zhang; Ming Ding; Hui Ding; Yuyan Qian; Jiaxing Hu; Jukun Song; Zhu Chen

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23118

Understanding the consequences of leisure sedentary behavior on periodontitis: A two-step, multivariate Mendelian randomization study

Heliyon. 2023 Nov 30;9(12):e23118. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23118. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Zhonghua Zhang^{1

2}, Ming Ding^{1

2}, Hui Ding³, Yuyan Qian², Jiaxing Hu^{1

2}, Jukun Song⁴, Zhu Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ School of Stomatology, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
² Department of Endodontics, Guiyang Stomatological Hospital, Guiyang, China.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical College, Haikou, China.
⁴ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, The Affiliated Stomatological Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, China.

Abstract

Background: The relationship between leisure sedentary behavior (LSB) and periodontitis risk remains unclear in terms of causality and the potential mediating effects of intermediate factors.

Materials and methods: Using the aggregate data of several large-scale genetic association studies from participants of European descent, we conducted a univariate, two-step, and multivariate Mendelian random (MR) analysis to infer the overall effect of LSB on periodontitis, and quantified the intermediary proportion of intermediary traits such as smoking.

Results: Our findings indicated that per 1-SD increase (1.87 h) in leisure screen time (LST), there was a 23 % increase in the risk of periodontitis. [odds ratios (95 % CI) = 1.23 (1.04-1.44), p = 0.013]. Smoking was found to partially mediate the overall causal effect of LST on periodontitis, with a mediation rate of 20.7 % (95 % CI: 4.9%-35.5 %). Multivariate MR analysis demonstrated that the causal effect of LST on periodontitis was weakened when adjusting for smoking, resulting in an odds ratio of 1.19 (95 % CI: 1.01-1.39, p = 0.049) for each 1 standard deviation increase in exposure.

Conclusion: The study provides evidence of a potential causal relationship between LSB characterized by LST and periodontitis, thereby further supporting the notion that reducing LSB is beneficial for health. Furthermore, it confirms the role of smoking as a mediator in this process, suggesting that inhibiting smoking behavior among individuals with long-term LSB may serve as a strategy to mitigate the risk of periodontitis.

Keywords: Intermediary analysis; Leisure sedentary behavior; Mendelian randomization; Periodontitis; Smoking.