Oral Microbiota and Cardiovascular Diseases: A Study Integrating Genome-Wide Association and 16S rRNA Sequence Analyses

Introduction and Aims: Evidence suggests a relationship between oral microbiota and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the roles of specific microbiota in the pathogenesis of CVDs remain underexplored. Methods: Two-sample mendelian randomization (MR) was applied to investigate the association between oral microbiota and six types of CVDs. Oral microbiota and CVDs were identified using large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from East Asian populations. Sequencing results from a clinical cohort were used to examine the directional consistency of the MR findings. Results: The MR analysis identified suggestive associations between specific oral bacteria and cardiovascular diseases, including 10 positive (risk factors) and 7 negative (protective factors) causative directions. Sensitivity analyses supported the robustness of these associations. Clinical observational analysis showed that seven risk-associated and 2 protective bacteria were significantly correlated with CVDs, demonstrating directional consistency with the MR findings. Conclusion: Using GWAS datasets and MR analysis, this study systematically investigated the relationships between oral microbiota and six distinct subtypes of CVDs and identified specific oral bacteria as potential targets for further investigation into CVDs prevention.