Department of Cardiology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai; Department of Cardiology, Shanghai East Hospital of Clinical Medical College, Dalian Medical University, Dalian; Department of Cardiology, Shanghai East Hospital of Clinical Medical College, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing
Background: Evidence from observational epidemiological studies indicated that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) increased the risk of heart failure (HF). However, there is a possibility that the correlation is not explained as a causative role for RA in the pathogenesis of HF. A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) framework was designed to explore the potential etiological role of RA in HF to identify the target to improve the burden of HF disease. Methods: To assess the causal association between RA and HF, we analyzed summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for individuals of European descent. Genetic instruments for RA were identified at a genome-wide significance threshold (p 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings did not support the causal role of RA in the etiology of HF. As such, therapeutics targeted at the control of RA may have a lower likelihood of effectively controlling the occurrence of HF.
