# Leveraging All of Us data to unravel the interconnectedness between dental and systemic disease

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $159,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Epidemiological studies have suggested a bidirectional relationship between dental disease and systemic
conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), with the chronic inflammatory state caused by
dental infections attributed as a plausible contributing factor to systemic disease pathogenesis. Despite research
progress, the results of these studies are controversial. Among the hindering factors impeding progress in the
field is the lack of integrated dental, medical, and genomic data thereby leaving much to be learned about the
host biological mechanisms contributing to dental and systemic disease relationships. In previous studies, we
have shown the importance of combining genetic and epidemiological association analysis to advance
knowledge on dental and systemic disease relationships. Further, we’ve shown that variation in dental-disease
associated loci were significantly associated with increased risk for >30 systemic disease phecodes. In this
application, we will test the hypothesis that a potential shared genetic etiology may contribute to the
interconnectedness between dental and systemic disease and propose a large-scale study with integrated
participant data for more conclusive findings and to move the field forward. We will leverage and integrate high-
quality clinical (dental and medical), genomic, and demographic data available from >200,000 participants in the
All of Us Research Program to identify host factors most likely contributing to a combined phenotype of dental +
systemic disease. We will identify gene variants associated with each combined phenotype and determine
whether polygenic risk can increase risk to a combined phentoype. This study represents a major advance in
the field by creating a roadmap for integrating clinical and genomic data from a large and diverse population to
elucidate the contributions of host predisposing factors to dental + systemic disease phenotypes. Data generated
through this proposal will be available in the All of Us Researcher Workbench. This proposal addresses NIDCR’s
Strategic Priorities #1 Integrate Oral and General Health, and #2 Precision Dental Medicine.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10918307
- **Project number:** 5R03DE033541-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Ariadne M Letra
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $159,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10918307

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10918307, Leveraging All of Us data to unravel the interconnectedness between dental and systemic disease (5R03DE033541-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10918307. Licensed CC0.

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