Causal Relationship between Sex Hormones and Risk of Developing Common Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Abstract

Background: Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of unexplained disorders of the central nervous system, and studies have shown that a large number of genetic and environmental factors are associated with these diseases. Since these diseases show significant gender differences in epidemiology, sex hormones are thought to be strongly associated with these diseases. In this study, we used Mendelian randomization to explore the causal relationship between sex hormones and the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. Methods: We obtained genetic instrumental variables for sex hormones (sex hormone-binding globulin [SHBG], estradiol levels [EL], and bioavailable testosterone [BT]) separately through the Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) database (https://gwas.mrcieu.ac.uk/). We analyzed the causal relationship of each with the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis [ALS], Parkinson’s disease [PD], and Alzheimer’s disease [AD]) using inverse variance weighted (IVW) in Mendelian randomization. Data were then analyzed for sensitivity. Results: BT was negatively associated with the risk of developing ALS (odds ratio [OR] = 0.794; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.672–0.938; p = 0.006). EL and SHBG were not associated with a risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases (ALS, PD, AD). Conclusions: Elevated BT is associated with a reduced risk of developing ALS. Further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms of action for this correlation and how it can be used as a potential target of action to reduce the risk of developing ALS.

Keywords

• sex hormones
• neurodegenerative diseases (nds)
• mendelian randomization (mr)
• causal effect