AUTHOR=Yao Yiren , Liu Hongyang , Gu Yang , Xu Xiaojin , Zhang Xiwen 

TITLE=A causal association between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and atrial fibrillation: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2024.1351495

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2024.1351495

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objectives</title><p>To look into the connection between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and atrial fibrillation (AF) using Mendelian randomization (MR).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Two-sample MR was performed using genetic information from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Genetic variants robustly associated with ALS and AF were used as instrumental variables. GWAS genetic data for ALS (<italic>n</italic> = 138,086, ncase = 27,205) and AF (<italic>n</italic> = 1,030,836, ncase = 60,620), publicly available from IEU Open. The specific MR protocols were Inverse variance-weighted (IVW), Simple mode, MR Egger, Weighted mode, and Weight median estimator (WME). Subsequently, the MR-Egger intercept and Cochran Q examine were used to evaluate instrumental variables (IVs)' heterogeneity and multiplicative effects (IVs). In addition, MR-PRESSO analysis was conducted to exclude any potential pleiotropy.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The IVW method demonstrated that ALS positively affected AF [OR: 1.062, 95% CI (1.004–1.122); <italic>P </italic>= 0.035]. Indeed, other MR methods were in accordance with the tendency of the IVW method (all OR &gt; 1), and sensitivity testing verified the reliability of this MR result.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>This MR study proves a positive causal connection between ALS and atrial fibrillation. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanisms linking ALS and AF.</p></sec>