Systemic cytokines and risk of periodontitis: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Background: This study aims to investigate the bidirectional causal relationship between systemic cytokines and periodontitis. Methods: : We conducted a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study of the relationship between systemic cytokines and periodontitis using inverse variance weighted, weighted median and MR-Egger regression. The genome-wide association study data included information on 41 cytokines in 8293 individuals and periodontitis in 456,348individuals. Results: : Increased systemic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels were found to be a risk factor for periodontitis (Odds ratio =1.564, 95% confidence interval = 1.137-2.150, P = 0.006). Heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy were not detected. Conclusions: : Our findings suggest that G-CSF may have an essential role in the progression of periodontitis.