Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26973655›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in immunology2016

Hand to Mouth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Association between Rheumatoid Arthritis and Periodontitis.

Nicholas R Fuggle, Toby O Smith, Arvind Kaul, Nidhi Sofat

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in immunology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 114 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
114citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
22.8field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

114 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 230 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Pooled it
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  6. Trial
  7. Article
  8. Exploring oral health care needs of Canadians with rheumatic diseases: a qualitative study.Canadian journal of dental hygiene : CJDH = Journal canadien de l'hygiene dentaire : JCHD · 2026
    Article
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  11. Review
  12. Article
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  15. RMD open · 2025
    Article
  16. Oral Microbiome Dysbiosis and Citrullination in Rheumatoid Arthritis.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025
    Review
  17. Review
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review

54 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Nicholas R FuggleMusculoskeletal Research Group, Institute of Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London , London , UK.
Toby O SmithFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of East Anglia , Norwich , UK.
Arvind KaulDepartment of Rheumatology, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust , London , UK.
Nidhi SofatMusculoskeletal Research Group, Institute of Infection and Immunity, St George's University of London, London, UK; Department of Rheumatology, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust · GBSt George's, University of London · GBUniversity of East Anglia · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) and periodontitis are both chronic inflammatory diseases, which demonstrate similarities in terms of mechanism, histopathology, and demography. An association between these conditions has been demonstrated previously but has been called into question more recently.

methodsThe published databases, such as MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO, were searched using search terms related to RA and periodontitis. Articles were selected if they included data on the number of people with RA diagnosed with periodontitis (or periodontal disease parameters) compared to a control comparison group. Review articles, case reports, animal model studies, non-English language, and articles with unavailable abstracts were excluded. Data were extracted, critically appraised using the Downs and Black tool, and a random-effect Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis was performed.

resultsTwenty-one papers met the eligibility criteria and provided data for the meta-analysis; 17 studies (including a total of 153,492 participants) comparing RA to healthy controls and 4 (including a total of 1378 participants) comparing RA to osteoarthritis (OA). There was a significantly increased risk of periodontitis in people with RA compared to healthy controls (relative risk: 1.13; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.23; p = 0.006; N = 153,277) with a significantly raised mean probing depth, risk of bleeding on probing (BOP), and absolute value of clinical attachment loss in those with RA. When comparing RA and OA, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of periodontitis; however, the risk of BOP was greater in OA than RA.

conclusionA significant association between RA and periodontitis is supported by the results of our systematic review and meta-analysis of studies comparing RA to healthy controls. In our meta-analysis, however, this is not replicated when comparing RA to OA controls.

Indexed as

inflammatory arthritismeta-analysisperiodontal diseaseperiodontitisrheumatoid arthritis

Identifiers

PMID26973655
PMCPMC4774606
OpenAlexW2297547064

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.