The Association between Periodontitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background. It has been reported that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more susceptible to periodontitis. However, data regarding the risk of periodontitis in IBD patients are scarce, and results from individual studies remain controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk of periodontitis in IBD patients. Methods. Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase were searched for studies investigating the risk of periodontitis in the IBD patient population from Jan. 2000 to Nov. 2020. Articles were included if they contained the number of people with IBD diagnosed with periodontitis (or periodontal disease parameters) compared with a control group. Case reports, reviews, animal studies, and articles without available abstracts were excluded. A pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the association between periodontitis and IBD. Results. Six studies were included in the meta-analysis. The overall risk of periodontitis was significantly higher in IBD patients than controls (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.60-2.74; $I^2=27\%$ ). In particular, Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) were both linked to an increased risk of periodontitis (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 1.36-2.19; $I^2=0\%$ for CD vs. OR:2.39, 95% CI: 1.19-4.80; $I^2=85\%$ for UC). Conclusions. IBD patients are at higher risk of periodontitis than controls. After subgroup analysis, the elevated risk remained significant when analyzing CD or UC alone. UC patients were at higher risk of developing periodontitis than CD patients.