Periodontitis prevalence and acceleration of biological aging: Insights from NHANES 2009–2014 and Mendelian randomization study

Abstract Aim This study aimed to investigate the association of periodontitis with biological aging and to assess potential causality using Mendelian randomization (MR). Methods A cross‐sectional study with 9558 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2009–2014) was conducted. Age acceleration (BioAgeAccel and PhenoAgeAccel) was calculated from clinical biomarkers and their discrepancies with chronological age. Two‐sample MR analysis was performed using data from a large‐scale genome‐wide association study and UK Biobank. Results Periodontitis was associated with increased biological aging, with 0.57‐year (95% CI: 0.28–0.86, p < .001) increases in BioAgeAccel and 0.41‐year (95% CI: 0.04–0.78, p = .034) increases in PhenoAgeAccel. Subgroup analysis found significantly stronger associations in males for BioAgeAccele ( P INTERACTION = .006), and pronounced associations in young adults ( p interaction = .023), individuals with normal body mass index ( p interaction = .015), and current smokers ( p interaction = .016) for PehonAgeAccel. MR analysis did not provide strong evidence for a causal effect of periodontitis on biological aging (BioAgeAccel: IVW β = 0.008, 95% CI: −0.018 to 0.034, p = .553 and PhenoAgeAccel: IVW β = 0.016, 95% CI: −0.042 to 0.074, p = .585). Conclusion This study identified the association of periodontitis and its severity with accelerated aging, suggesting periodontal health could be a possible method in personalized preventive and therapeutic strategies of biological aging.