Subjects with high interleukin‐1β levels were also more likely to have severe periodontitis, diabetes, high carotid intima‐media wall thickness, higher body mass index and to be heavier smokers.127 To date, variants in the IL1A‐IL1B regions have been associated with coronary artery disease,128 rheumatoid arthritis129 and Behcet disease130 in three meta‐analyses of candidate gene studies. Here, IL1A is linked to periodontitis.