Association between periodontitis and metabolic syndrome in females: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and periodontal diseases (PDs) have shown a bidirectional and vice versa relationship. Hence, this study aimed to identify the extent and magnitude between MetS and PDs in females. Materials and Methods: A published literature was explored by considering case-control, cross-sectional, and cohort studies that involved patients with measurements of MetS and PD. Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, and Cochrane Library databases were used for the search. This study examined the relationship between the MetS and PD among females. Results: Of the initial 4150 titles screened, a total of 37 reported papers were eligible for quantitative review. A gender-wise analysis of the findings revealed a crude odds ratio (OR) of 1.385 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.043-1.839, I2 = 94.61%, P < 0.001] for the females relative to the average OR of 1.54 (95% CI: 1.39-1.71, I2 = 90.95%, P < 0.001). Further subgroup analysis for directionality in females revealed the crude ORs of 1.28 (95% CI: 0.91-1.79, I2 = 96.44%, P < 0.001) for the relationship between PD and MetS, whereas an OR of 2.12 (95% CI: 0.78-5.73, I2 = 88.31%, P < 0.001) was found between MetS and PDs. Conclusion: This study lacks convincing proof of a link between MetS and PDs in females when compared with an overall association between MetS and PDs. Directionality indicated higher odds of linking between MetS and PD than PD and MetS among females. Further longitudinal and treatment trials are needed to confirm the association among females.