Work

Body Mass Index Protects Against Temporomandibular Disorders, Whereas Systemic Inflammation, Vitamin D, and Migraine Do Not: A Causal Inference Study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Observational studies link temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) with body mass index (BMI), vitamin D, C-reactive protein (CRP), and migraine but causal relationships remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the bidirectional causal effects between these factors and TMD using Mendelian randomization (MR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used publicly available GWAS summary statistics. TMD data were from FinnGen R13 (23,035 cases; 477,151 controls). Exposure data for BMI, vitamin D, CRP, and migraine were from UK Biobank, SUNLIGHT, CHARGE, and FinnGen. Inverse-variance weighted (IVW) analysis was the primary method, with multiple sensitivity analyses and stratified MR. RESULTS: ), with consistent dose-response gradients across BMI strata. No significant causal effects were found for vitamin D (OR = 1.00, p = 0.932), CRP (OR = 1.03, p = 0.502), or migraine (OR = 1.00, p = 0.653). Reverse MR found no causal effects of TMD on any factor. CONCLUSIONS: Higher BMI protects against TMD, whereas vitamin D, CRP, and migraine do not causally influence TMD risk. These findings challenge the inflammation-deficiency hypothesis and highlight the role of body composition in TMD.

Source: Pain Research and Management

DOI: 10.1155/prm/1109763

Authors: Miao Yu, Li Dai

Institutions: Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong First Medical University

Language: English

Topic: Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

Subfield: Oral Surgery

Field: Dentistry

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,830