Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the causal relationships between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) (excluding ASD and Asperger’s syndrome [AS]) and childhood caries (primary teeth and permanent teeth). Methods We conducted two-sample Mendeli...

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Main Authors: Qiufang Jin, Zexiu He, Dongfang Xu, Ruihua Lin, Tongtong Zhang, Bingjian Lv, Yuliang Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Pediatrics
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05839-7
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author Qiufang Jin
Zexiu He
Dongfang Xu
Ruihua Lin
Tongtong Zhang
Bingjian Lv
Yuliang Zhao
author_facet Qiufang Jin
Zexiu He
Dongfang Xu
Ruihua Lin
Tongtong Zhang
Bingjian Lv
Yuliang Zhao
author_sort Qiufang Jin
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate the causal relationships between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) (excluding ASD and Asperger’s syndrome [AS]) and childhood caries (primary teeth and permanent teeth). Methods We conducted two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis by utilizing summary-level data of ASD and PDD (excluding ASD and AS) as exposures, and childhood caries (primary teeth and permanent teeth) as outcomes. Results The results showed that PDD (excluding ASD and AS) to be causally associated with caries in permanent teeth according to the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) (odds ratio [OR]: 1.151, 95%CI: 1.043–1.270, P = 0.005) and weighted median (OR: 1.159, 95%CI: 1.029–1.306, P = 0.015). However, according to the IVW (OR: 0.923, 95%CI: 0.873–1.003, P = 0.051), ASD might be causally associated with caries in permanent teeth. The results also showed no causal association between ASD or PDD (excluding ASD and AS) and caries in primary teeth. Conclusions Our study showed PDD (excluding ASD and AS) to have pathogenic effects on childhood caries of permanent teeth among a population of European ancestry. However, ASD was shown to have protective effects on childhood caries of permanent teeth.
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spelling doaj-art-f10f5a92e2db41d7a3b0794ae56a4b7b2025-08-20T04:01:35ZengBMCBMC Pediatrics1471-24312025-07-012511910.1186/s12887-025-05839-7Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization studyQiufang Jin0Zexiu He1Dongfang Xu2Ruihua Lin3Tongtong Zhang4Bingjian Lv5Yuliang Zhao6Department of Anesthesiology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Hebei Medical UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Hebei Medical UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Hebei Medical UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Hebei Medical UniversityDepartment of Anesthesiology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Hebei Medical UniversityDepartment of Pediatric Stomatology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Hebei Medical UniversityDepartment of Otolaryngology, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical UniversityAbstract Background This study aimed to investigate the causal relationships between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) (excluding ASD and Asperger’s syndrome [AS]) and childhood caries (primary teeth and permanent teeth). Methods We conducted two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis by utilizing summary-level data of ASD and PDD (excluding ASD and AS) as exposures, and childhood caries (primary teeth and permanent teeth) as outcomes. Results The results showed that PDD (excluding ASD and AS) to be causally associated with caries in permanent teeth according to the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) (odds ratio [OR]: 1.151, 95%CI: 1.043–1.270, P = 0.005) and weighted median (OR: 1.159, 95%CI: 1.029–1.306, P = 0.015). However, according to the IVW (OR: 0.923, 95%CI: 0.873–1.003, P = 0.051), ASD might be causally associated with caries in permanent teeth. The results also showed no causal association between ASD or PDD (excluding ASD and AS) and caries in primary teeth. Conclusions Our study showed PDD (excluding ASD and AS) to have pathogenic effects on childhood caries of permanent teeth among a population of European ancestry. However, ASD was shown to have protective effects on childhood caries of permanent teeth.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05839-7Autism spectrum disorderPervasive developmental disorderCaries in primary teeth and permanent teethTwo-sample Mendelian randomization analysis
spellingShingle Qiufang Jin
Zexiu He
Dongfang Xu
Ruihua Lin
Tongtong Zhang
Bingjian Lv
Yuliang Zhao
Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study
BMC Pediatrics
Autism spectrum disorder
Pervasive developmental disorder
Caries in primary teeth and permanent teeth
Two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis
title Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study
title_full Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study
title_fullStr Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study
title_full_unstemmed Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study
title_short Autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries: a comprehensive Mendelian randomization study
title_sort autism spectrum disorders and childhood caries a comprehensive mendelian randomization study
topic Autism spectrum disorder
Pervasive developmental disorder
Caries in primary teeth and permanent teeth
Two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-025-05839-7
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