Causal inference study on the influence of the anxious/worrier trait on the risk of endometriosis: Two‐sample Mendelian randomization
Ruixue Wan, Wen Fan, Dan Chen, Ya WenAbstract
Objective
Recent observational studies have identified an association between the anxious/worrier trait and endometriosis. However, the causal nature of this relationship remains unclear.
Methods
Summary statistics from genome‐wide association studies were used to identify independent genetic variants associated with the anxious/worrier trait, which served as instrumental variables in a two‐sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study. Causal estimates for the effect of emotional factors on endometriosis risk were obtained using inverse variance weighting, MR–Egger regression, and weighted median methods. Reverse MR analysis was then used to assess the impact of endometriosis on emotional indicators. Sensitivity analyses included the MR–Egger intercept test, leave‐one‐out analysis, and Cochran's Q test, which were used to detect potential pleiotropy and heterogeneity.
Results
The inverse variance weighted analysis indicated that the anxious/worrier trait significantly elevated the risk of developing endometriosis (odds ratio 3.84; 95% confidence interval 1.42–10.41, P = 0.008). The results of the reverse MR analysis did not indicate a significant causal effect of endometriosis on emotional indicators ( P > 0.05).
Conclusion
This study provides genetic evidence for a causal relationship between emotional factors (anxious/worrier trait) and endometriosis. However, the specific biological pathways involved warrant further investigation.