Int J Neurosci. 2022 Jul 6:1-9. doi: 10.1080/00207454.2022.2098737. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Previous studies have established that telomere length is associated with Multiple sclerosis(MS). However, confounding factors and reverse causality bias can impair observational research. Here, we conducted a two-sample MR study to see if telomere length is causally linked to MS using publically available GWAS summary statistics.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We screened 13 independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to leukocyte telomere length in a recent genome-wide association meta-analysis, which was available for 78,592 samples of European ancestry. The summary statistics for MS were from the latest meta-analyses conducted by the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium (IMSGC), which included 115,803 European participants (47,429 MS, 68,374 controls).
RESULTS: We found that leukocyte telomere length and MS are correlated (IVW estimate of odds ratio (OR): 2.13 per 1-SD increase in genetically determined telomere length, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.55-2.92, P =3.18 × 10-6).
CONCLUSION: Our MR study supported that leukocyte telomere length and MS have a positive causal relationship. Further researches are warranted to elucidate the physiological mechanism.
PMID:35791675 | DOI:10.1080/00207454.2022.2098737
