Periodontitis and inflammatory bowel disease: a meta-analysis

Background Periodontitis was reported to be associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the association between them has not been firmly established in the existing literature. Therefore, this meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between periodontitis and IBD. Methods Electronic databases were searched for publications up to August 1, 2019 to include all eligible studies. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated to determine the association between periodontal disease and IBD using a random or fixed effects model according to heterogeneity. Results Six eligible studies involving 599 IBD patients and 448 controls were included. The pooled OR between periodontitis and IBD was 3.17 (95% CI: 2.09-4.8) with no heterogeneity observed (I-2 = 0.00%). The pooled ORs were 3.64 (95% CI: 2.33-5.67) and 5.37 (95% CI: 3.30-8.74) for the associations between periodontitis and the two sub-categories of IBD, Crohn' s disease and ulcerative colitis, respectively. Conclusions The results demonstrated that periodontitis was significantly associated with IBD. However, the mechanisms underlying periodontitis and IBD development are undetermined. Further studies are needed to elucidate this relationship.