Pathways of the vitamin D receptor gene and dental caries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to vitamin D receptor genes (VDR) on caries experience.

METHODS

The search included five databases, focusing exclusively on human studies. Meta-analyses were conducted for each SNP and polling data from various SNPs within the gene. A Funnel Plot and Egger's test were performed.

RESULTS

Fourteen studies were included in the systematic review and thirteen in the meta-analysis. Seven SNPs related to VDR were assessed, and most (57.1 %) were in exon regions. A total of 4944 participants were included. No individual SNP was found to be significantly associated with caries in any of the evaluated models (allelic, genotypic heterozygous, or homozygous) (p > 0.05). No difference was observed even when stratifying via subgroup analysis according to population (p > 0.05). In the gene-level analysis adjusted by linkage disequilibrium, the overall model showed an OR of 0.93 (95 %CI: 0.69-1.23) for the allelic analysis, 1.15 (95 %CI: 0.84-1.57) for the homozygous genotypic model, and 1.18 (95 %CI: 0.95-1.48) for the heterozygous genotypic model. When stratified by subgroups, the East Asian population was associated with an increased OR of 1.42 (95 %CI: 1.01-2.01) in the heterozygous genotypic model. Egger's test showed no significant publication bias for all models (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The present findings showed that the SNPs in VDR are influenced by ethnic background and may play an important role in dental caries experience according to different ethnic groups. (CRD42020134424).