Serum antibodies to periodontal pathogens are related to allergic symptoms

Background: The association between periodontitis and allergic symptoms has been investigated. However, the difference in immune signatures between them remains poorly understood. This cross-sectional study assessed the relationship between serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to periodontal pathogens and allergic symptoms in a nationwide population cohort.

Methods: Two phases of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) were used as discovery dataset (n = 3700) and validation dataset (n = 4453), respectively. Based on the antibodies against 19 periodontal pathogens, we performed an unsupervised hierarchical clustering to categorize the population into three clusters. In the discovery dataset, cluster 1 (n = 2847) had the highest level of IgG antibodies, followed by clusters 2 (n = 588) and 3 (n = 265). Data on allergic symptoms (asthma, hay fever, and wheezing) were obtained using a self-reported questionnaire. Survey-weighted multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association between these clusters and allergic symptoms.

Results: In the discovery dataset, the participants with lower levels of antibodies to periodontal pathogens exhibited a higher risk of asthma (odds ratio [OR]_{cluster 3 vs. cluster 1} = 1.820, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.153–2.873) and wheezing (OR_{cluster 3 vs. cluster 1} = 1.550, 95% CI: 1.095–2.194) compared to those with higher periodontal antibodies, but the non-significant association with hay fever. Consistent results were found in the validation dataset.

Conclusions: Serum IgG titers to periodontal pathogens were inversely associated with the risk of asthma and wheezing, suggesting the potentially protective role against allergic conditions.