Role of Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms on the Susceptibility to Periodontitis: A Meta-Analysis of a Controversial Issue.

To assess whether vitamin D receptor () gene polymorphisms influence the susceptibility to periodontitis. We retrieved 34 relevant studies, comprising a total of 3848 subjects suffering from periodontitis and 3470 controls for this meta-analysis. The pooled data were analyzed using STATA software. Among all ethnic groups examined, the I polymorphism was associated with periodontitis under the recessive model (odds ratio [OR] = 0.722, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.532-0.980,  = 0.037). There was also a link between the I polymorphism and periodontitis in the overall population (dominant model: OR = 1.459, 95% CI: 1.050-2.028,  = 0.025 and allelic model: OR = 1.386, 95% CI: 1.026-1.874,  = 0.034) and in Chinese participants (dominant model: OR = 1.813, 95% CI: 1.185-2.774,  = 0.006; allelic model: OR = 1.602, 95% CI: 1.044-2.459,  = 0.031) when stratified by race. The I variant was also correlated with aggressive periodontitis (AP) (dominant model: OR = 2.204, 95% CI: 1.148-4.231,  = 0.018; allelic model: OR = 2.017, 95% CI: 1.365-2.980,  = 0.000; and recessive model: OR = 2.903, 95% CI: 1.520-5.542,  = 0.001). We also showed a correlation between the I variant and periodontitis susceptibility in Caucasian populations (dominant model: OR = 0.525, 95% CI: 0.318-0.866,  = 0.012). The results revealed that there was no relationship between the I gene polymorphism and periodontitis. There was a link between the I and I gene polymorphisms and periodontitis in the overall population. In addition, the I polymorphism was correlated with AP. There was a link between the I polymorphism and periodontitis in the Caucasian population. The variant, however, was not correlated with periodontitis.