Frontiers in Genetics (Jun 2024)

Mendelian randomization and Bayesian model averaging of autoimmune diseases and Long COVID

  • Jieni Feng,
  • Jiankun Chen,
  • Jiankun Chen,
  • Jiankun Chen,
  • Xiaoya Li,
  • Xiaolei Ren,
  • Junxu Chen,
  • Zuming Li,
  • Yuan Wu,
  • Yuan Wu,
  • Zhongde Zhang,
  • Zhongde Zhang,
  • Zhongde Zhang,
  • Rongyuan Yang,
  • Rongyuan Yang,
  • Rongyuan Yang,
  • Rongyuan Yang,
  • Jiqiang Li,
  • Jiqiang Li,
  • Jiqiang Li,
  • Yue Lu,
  • Yue Lu,
  • Yuntao Liu,
  • Yuntao Liu,
  • Yuntao Liu,
  • Yuntao Liu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2024.1383162
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

Read online

BackgroundFollowing COVID-19, reports suggest Long COVID and autoimmune diseases (AIDs) in infected individuals. However, bidirectional causal effects between Long COVID and AIDs, which may help to prevent diseases, have not been fully investigated.MethodsSummary-level data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of Long COVID (N = 52615) and AIDs including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (N = 377277), Crohn’s disease (CD) (N = 361508), ulcerative colitis (UC) (N = 376564), etc. were employed. Bidirectional causal effects were gauged between AIDs and Long COVID by exploiting Mendelian randomization (MR) and Bayesian model averaging (BMA).ResultsThe evidence of causal effects of IBD (OR = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.00–1.11, p = 3.13E-02), CD (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.01–1.19, p = 2.21E-02) and UC (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03–1.13, p = 2.35E-03) on Long COVID was found. In MR-BMA, UC was estimated as the highest-ranked causal factor (MIP = 0.488, MACE = 0.035), followed by IBD and CD.ConclusionThis MR study found that IBD, CD and UC had causal effects on Long COVID, which suggests a necessity to screen high-risk populations.

Keywords