Mendelian randomization study confirms causal relationship between myopia and vitreous disorders

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the potential bidirectional causal relationship between myopia and vitreous disorders from a genetic perspective, as vitreous disorders have been found to be closely associated with myopia development.

Methods: To achieve this, a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design was employed. The study utilized pooled statistics from independent genome-wide association studies. Myopia was chosen as the exposure factor, while five different vitreous disorders were considered as outcomes. The primary analytical method was the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method, supplemented by sensitivity analysis.

Results: The study yielded significant findings indicating a positive association between myopia and vitreous disorders. The genetic prediction of myopia consistently demonstrated a positive correlation with vitreous disorders, as evidenced by IVW (odds ratio [OR] = 18.387; P < 0.01), MR Egger (OR = 2784.954; P < 0.01), weighted median (OR = 30.284; P < 0.01), and weighted mode (OR = 57.381; P < 0.01). All sensitivity analyses further validated these associations. Furthermore, a significant association was observed between myopia and other unspecified vitreous body disorders (IVW: OR = 57.729; P < 0.01).

Conclusion: Studies mainly conducted in European populations have confirmed that myopia, extending beyond early high myopia, plays a crucial role in influencing vitreous disorders and that there is a unidirectional causal relationship between myopia and vitreous disorders. Additionally, a causal relationship was identified between myopia and other unspecified vitreous disordes. These findings introduce fresh perspectives for the clinical management of unspecified vitreous disorders and contribute to the understanding of the effect of myopia on vitreous disorders. Myopia prevention and treatment will aid in slowing down the process of vitreous liquefaction and subsequently decrease the incidence of malignant eye conditions.

Keywords: Genome-wide association study; Mendelian randomization; Myopia; Vitreous disorders.