Genetics and sleep bruxism: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies with twins

To systematically review the literature regarding the concordance of sleep bruxism (SB) between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins.

The registration for this systematic review was accomplished in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO, No. CRD42021251751). As of July 2022, four databases were searched, including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science, as well as the grey literature in Google Scholar and OpenGrey. Observational studies evaluating SB in MZ and DZ twins of any age and sex were included. For the evaluation of the risk of bias, the Joanna Briggs checklist was utilized. The certainty of evidence was assessed via the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system. Pooled and subgroup meta-analyses were performed to estimate concordance of SB ​​between twins (p < 0.05).

In total, 3,155 records were identified. In the qualitative analysis, eleven studies were included; of these, seven were included in the meta-analysis. The majority of the articles exhibited a low risk of bias (63.6%). Greater SB concordance was observed between MZ twins than between DZ twins in the analysis of general concordance (OR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.07–2.02) and also positive concordance (OR = 1.53; 95% CI = 1.29–1.81). Within the subgroup analyses, the significance of the findings remained only for the reported/self-reported SB regarding general concordance (OR = 1.44; 95% CI = 1.07–1.95) and positive concordance (OR = 1.55; 95% CI = 1.28–1.88). Low certainty of the evidence was observed for the general concordance analysis, while moderate certainty was observed for the positive concordance.

There was a higher concordance of SB in MZ twins compared to DZ twins, indicating a possible genetic influence on the condition’s occurrence.