Interplay between genetically predicted gut microbiota and chronic apical periodontitis: a Mendelian randomization analysis

Background: Whether alterations in the gut microbiota play a causal role in chronic apical periodontitis (CAP) remains uncertain. A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used in this study to assess the potential causal effect of gut microbiota on CAP risk. Methods: Gut microbiota summary statistics were from the MiBioGen consortium's largest GWAS, and CAP data from the FinnGen project. The inverse variance-weighted method was the main analytic approach, and sensitivity analyses verified instrument robustness. Results: = 0.002). Sensitivity analyses supported the stability of these findings and confirmed that the effect estimates were directionally consistent, thereby strengthening confidence in the primary results. Conclusions: This MR analysis provides evidence of a genetic relationship between gut microbiota composition and susceptibility to CAP. The findings broaden our understanding of microbial changes in CAP-affected tissues, and suggest a genetic association between alterations in the composition of the gut microbiota and CAP risk.