Psychological factors as the risk factor of mouth ulcers: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study

J Health Psychol. 2022 Jun;27(7):1556-1568. doi: 10.1177/1359105321999697. Epub 2021 Mar 5.

Abstract

To examine whether psychological traits (PT) had causal effects on Mouth Ulcers (MU), we applied two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to genetics association summary statistics of eleven PT and MU. After the adjustment of outlier variants, genetic correlations and multiple testing, well-being (WB) spectrum PT like life satisfactory (odds ratio [OR] = 0.638 per one standard deviation increment of PT score) had protective effects on MU. Reverse WB traits like neuroticism (OR = 1.60) increased the risk of MU. The lack of well-being characteristics may increase the risk of MU, which highlighted the value of preventive oral care for people who have a reverse mental condition.

Keywords: Mendelian randomization; depressive symptoms; mouth ulcers; neuroticism; subjective well-being.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Humans
  • Mendelian Randomization Analysis*
  • Neuroticism
  • Oral Ulcer*
  • Risk Factors