IADR Abstract Archives
Sex-Based Differences in Oral Diseases
Objectives: Sexual dimorphism has been shown to influence disease predisposition and/or progression. Sex differences have been noted in the manifestation of dental caries, periodontal disease, and pulpal/periapical disease. However, studies addressing sex-based differences in oral/dental diseases and conditions are scarce. This study aimed to identify specific oral/dental conditions likely influenced by sexual dimorphism using two large health data repositories.
Methods: The All of Us Research Program database was used to query for all the oral and dental concepts available from the electronic health records (EHR) of 254,700 individuals. resulting in 216 dental concepts. Each dental concept’s occurrence stratified by biological sex was recorded and compared using Chi-square or Fisher Exact tests. Validation of findings derived from All of Us was performed using the Bigmouth Data Repository with similar search strategies, yielding a total of 241 dental concepts. Comparison between female and male predominance was performed with chi-square test, setting a significance thresholds at α ≤ 0.05. Odds ratio (OR) and confidence intervals were also calculated.
Results: Eighty-nine of the 216 dental concepts identified in All of Us provided data on sex frequency. Of these, 77 (86.5%) concepts showed evidence of sex-related differences (50.6% more prevalent in females). Higher female predilection was observed in diseases of the oral soft-tissues (ORs=2.17-4.90), dental abscess (OR=2.8), reversible pulpitis (OR=2.6), toothache (OR=2.6), radicular cyst (OR=2.5), apical periodontitis (OR=2.8), aggressive periodontitis (OR=2.4), high risk for caries (OR=2.25). BigMouth database confirmed sexual dimorphism in 154 (63.9%) of dental concepts, with 86.4% of them presenting a female predominance.
Conclusions: This study corroborates previous findings and provides new evidence of sexual dimorphism influencing oral/dental diseases on a large scale. Our results further elaborate on the underlying etiology of sex-based differences in dental diseases, potentially serving as the basis for development of precision-based diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Methods: The All of Us Research Program database was used to query for all the oral and dental concepts available from the electronic health records (EHR) of 254,700 individuals. resulting in 216 dental concepts. Each dental concept’s occurrence stratified by biological sex was recorded and compared using Chi-square or Fisher Exact tests. Validation of findings derived from All of Us was performed using the Bigmouth Data Repository with similar search strategies, yielding a total of 241 dental concepts. Comparison between female and male predominance was performed with chi-square test, setting a significance thresholds at α ≤ 0.05. Odds ratio (OR) and confidence intervals were also calculated.
Results: Eighty-nine of the 216 dental concepts identified in All of Us provided data on sex frequency. Of these, 77 (86.5%) concepts showed evidence of sex-related differences (50.6% more prevalent in females). Higher female predilection was observed in diseases of the oral soft-tissues (ORs=2.17-4.90), dental abscess (OR=2.8), reversible pulpitis (OR=2.6), toothache (OR=2.6), radicular cyst (OR=2.5), apical periodontitis (OR=2.8), aggressive periodontitis (OR=2.4), high risk for caries (OR=2.25). BigMouth database confirmed sexual dimorphism in 154 (63.9%) of dental concepts, with 86.4% of them presenting a female predominance.
Conclusions: This study corroborates previous findings and provides new evidence of sexual dimorphism influencing oral/dental diseases on a large scale. Our results further elaborate on the underlying etiology of sex-based differences in dental diseases, potentially serving as the basis for development of precision-based diagnostic and treatment strategies.