Evaluating the association between oral microbiota and cardiovascular diseases: evidence from Mendelian randomization analysis

Recent studies have suggested a potential role of the oral microbiome in the development of cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to investigate the association between oral microbiota and cardiovascular disease risk, including atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure, and hypertension.

We analyzed GWAS data from East Asian populations' oral microbiome, involving 2,017 tongue and 1,915 saliva samples from 2,984 individuals with whole-genome sequencing. Additionally, we sourced cardiovascular disease GWAS data from NBDC, including atrial fibrillation (8,180 cases, 28,621 controls), myocardial infarction (14,992 cases, 146,214 controls), chronic heart failure (10,540 cases, 168,186 controls), and systolic blood pressure (145,505 individuals).

Several oral microbiota taxa were found to be significantly associated with cardiovascular disease outcomes. Specific microbiota, such as Centipeda, Corynebacterium, and Pseudomonas E, were negatively correlated with heart failure. In contrast, taxa like Neisseria D and Actinomyces were associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation and myocardial infarction. Additionally, certain oral microbiota showed correlations with changes in blood pressure, highlighting their potential role in hypertension.

Our findings suggest that the oral microbiota may influence the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases, providing new insights into the potential impact of oral health on cardiovascular risk.