Alexandria, VA – A study leveraging electronic health records, whole genome sequencing, and genotyping array data from participants in the All of Us Research Program was presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the AADOCR, which was held in conjunction with the 49th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 12-15, 2025 in New York, NY.
The abstract, “Using All of Us to Decipher Dental-Systemic Disease Relationships” was presented by Gabriel Kowalczyk of the University of Pittsburgh during the “Keynote Address; Current Clinical and Translational Sciences in Dentistry” Oral Session that took place on Friday, March 14, 2025 at 8 a.m. EDT (UTC-4).
Low-grade, chronic inflammation resulting from dental disease can contribute to elevated systemic levels of inflammation associated with health conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Previous studies have identified genetic and epidemiological factors as suggestive evidence for a bidirectional relationship between systemic disease and dental disease, however causality remains to be established. Here, investigators were able to identify epidemiological and genetic factors contributing to combined dental-systemic disease phenotypes.
Among the limitations of previous research are the lack of integrated dental, medical, demographic, and particularly genomic information, thereby precluding identification of causal factors. This study begins to elucidate the shared genetic risk potentially underlying bidirectional relationships between dental and systemic diseases.
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.
