Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Salivary Lactoferrin for Periodontal Disease

A systematic review and meta-analysis by Hoda Tayebi-Hillali, published on figshare in May 2026, synthesizes evidence on salivary lactoferrin as a biomarker for periodontal disease. The work includes 19 studies, with 11 contributing to a meta-analysis that quantified lactoferrin levels in different oral fluids. The review concludes that lactoferrin levels are elevated in periodontitis and decrease after treatment, highlighting its diagnostic potential.

Use Cases

• Validate salivary lactoferrin as a diagnostic biomarker based on aggregated case-control study results.
• Assess the effect of mechanical periodontal treatment on biomarker levels based on reported longitudinal pre-post intervention studies.
• Explore methodological heterogeneity in biomarker research based on the noted variability in study quality and protocols.

Strengths

• Includes a meta-analysis with specific Ratio of Means (ROM) results, such as ROM=1.77 for unstimulated saliva.
• Systematically reviewed 19 studies from five databases without time restrictions up to January 2026.
• Risk of bias was assessed using standardized tools (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, ROBINS-I) and evidence certainty graded with GRADE.

Limitations

• The primary data file is a 14.6 KB DOCX document, indicating a very limited scope focused on the review article itself rather than raw data.
• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; the dataset's structure and underlying data points are unknown.
• The meta-analysis of intervention studies was reported as not feasible due to inconsistent protocols and reporting.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic review and meta-analysis of existing studies.

Time Range

Studies included up to January 2026.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-22 05:52:06.