Assessment of relationships between frailty and chronic pain: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation study

Abstract

Background: Previous observational studies have indicated a complex association between chronic pain and frailty. This study aimed to examine the bidirectional causal relationship between frailty and chronic pain and to quantify mediating effects of known modifiable risk factors.

Methods: A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) analysis was applied in this study. Summary genome-wide association statistics for frailty, as defined by both frailty index (FI) and Fried Frailty Score (FFS), pain at seven site-specific chronic pain (SSCP) (headache, facial, neck/shoulder, stomach/abdominal, back, hip and knee) and multisite chronic pain (MCP) were extracted from populations of European ancestry. Genetic instrumental variables strongly correlated with each exposure were selected. The inverse-variance-weighted method was the primary method used in the MR, supplemented by a range of sensitivity and validation analyses. Two-step MR analysis was undertaken to evaluate the mediating effects of several proposed confounders.

Results: Genetically predicted higher FI and FFS were associated with an increased risk of MCP and specific types of SSCP, including neck/shoulder pain, stomach/abdominal pain, back pain, hip pain and knee pain. In the reverse direction analysis, genetic liability to MCP was found to be associated with increased FI and FFS. These results remained consistent across sensitivity and validation assessments. Two-step MR suggested a mediating role for body mass index, smoking initiation, physical inactivity, educational attainment and depression.

Conclusions: Our research provided genetic evidence that the association between frailty and chronic pain was bidirectional where the coexistence of both conditions will exacerbate each other.

Keywords: Mendelian randomisation study; chronic pain; frailty; mediation analysis; older people.