Causal relationship between cheese intake and periodontal diseases: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Dietary habits have been confirmed to affect periodontal disease, but whether cheese intake is associated with periodontal disease remains unclear. This study aims to explore the causal relationship between cheese intake and periodontal disease by Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. genome-wide association study data from the UK Biobank was utilized. In order to reveal the causal relationship between exposure (cheese intake) and outcome (periodontal disease), and to ensure the reliability of the conclusions, single nucleotide polymorphisms were rigorously selected as instrumental variables to replace the exposure. The following methods were applied for MR analysis: the inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode and weighted mode methods. Sensitivity analyses included heterogeneity test, horizontal pleiotropy test and leave-one-out method. The IVW method indicated that the risk of periodontal diseases decreased as cheese intake increases (OR = 0.545, 95% CI = 0.364-0.816, P = .0032). Sensitivity analyses revealed no statistical evidence of heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy, confirming the robustness of the results. Increased cheese intake may reduce the risk of periodontal disease. This study provides genetic evidence supporting the inclusion of cheese in the diet for periodontal disease. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in different populations and to understand the underlying mechanisms.