Causal Inference for Scoliosis and Strabismus: A 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

Yu C1,2, Xu Z3, Zhang X4, Yu Z5, Lu K2, Zhan F5, Zhang X2 and Zhu L1

1The Second Department of Spine, Wangjing Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, China
2Department of Traditional Chinese Osteopathy & Traumatology, Beijing Electric Power Hospital, China
3Health News, Beijing, China
4The Second Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, China
5Department of Chinese Medicine, Liaoning Yu Zhongbao Clinic of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China

^*Correspondance to: Zifeng Xu 

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Abstract:

Background: Some studies have shown an association between spinal curvature and strabismus, but the genetic association has not been clarified. Therefore, the present study is proposed to be a Mendelian randomization study aiming to investigate the genetic causal association between spinal curvature and strabismus. Purpose: Genetic causal associations between strabismus, Convergent concomitant strabismus (Ccs), Divergent concomitant strabismus (Dcs), Other specified and unspecified strabismus (Osus), Other strabismus (Os) and spinal curvature were investigated by a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study to provide a basis for the prevention and treatment of spinal curvature. Methods: Significant and independent Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in genome-wide association studies were selected as Instrumental Variables (IVs) for Mendelian Randomization (MR) analysis. Inverse Variance Weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, Weighted Median (WME), Simple Mode (SM), and Weighted Mode (WM) were used to analyze causal association; Heterogeneity and multiplicity tests were also performed and analyzed using the leave-one-out method to assess the stability of the results. Results: MR and reverse MR was utilized to assess the impact of scoliosis on strabismus, revealing that the 95% confidence intervals of all instrumental variables OR values spanned 1 and the P values were all above 0.05. These results indicate a lack of evidence supporting a causal relationship between scoliosis and strabismus. Conclusion: There is currently no conclusive evidence of a genetic causal relationship between scoliosis and strabismus, including their subtypes. Further laboratory studies are needed to confirm these findings, and future research with larger sample sizes is necessary to provide more robust support.

Keywords:

Spinal curvature; Strabismus; Subgroup; Mendelian randomization; Causal association analysis

Cite the Article:

Yu C, Xu Z, Zhang X, Yu Z, Lu K, Zhan F, et al. Causal Inference for Scoliosis and Strabismus: A 2-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study. Ann Clin Case Rep. 2024; 9: 2662.