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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders: Autoinflammatory Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1420840
This article is part of the Research Topic Diagnosis and Management of Acute, Chronic, and Autoimmune Pancreatitis View all 4 articles

The Causality between Use of glucocorticoids and Risk of Pancreatitis: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Provisionally accepted
Wenfeng Lin Wenfeng Lin 1Qiqi Zheng Qiqi Zheng 2Xiaorong Wang Xiaorong Wang 2Xiao L. Lin Xiao L. Lin 3Xixi Ni Xixi Ni 2Jingye Pan Jingye Pan 2Maddalena Zippi Maddalena Zippi 4Sirio Fiorino Sirio Fiorino 5Wandong Hong Wandong Hong 1,2*
  • 1 Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
  • 3 Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China
  • 4 Sandro Pertini Hospital, Rome, Lazio, Italy
  • 5 Budrio Hospital, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background and Aim: To date, the association between glucocorticoid use and the risk of pancreatitis remains controversial. The aim of this study was the investigation of this possible relationship. Methods: We carried out a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using GWAS data from European ancestry, East Asian descendants and the FinnGen Biobank Consortium to evaluate this potential causal relationship. Genetic variants associated with glucocorticoid use were selected based on genome-wide significance (p < 5×10-8). Results: Our MR analysis of European ancestry data revealed no significant causal relationship between glucocorticoid use and AP (IVW: OR=1.084, 95% CI= 0.945-1.242, P=0.249; MR-Egger: OR=1.049, 95% CI= 0.686-1.603, P=0.828; weighted median: OR=1.026, 95% CI= 0.858-1.225, P=0.781) or CP (IVW: OR=1.027, 95% CI= 0.850-1.240, P=0.785; MR-Egger: OR= 1.625, 95% CI= 0.913-2.890, P= 0.111; weighted median: OR= 1.176, 95% CI= 0.909-1.523, P= 0.218). Sensitivity analyses, including MR-Egger and MR-PRESSO, indicated no evidence of pleiotropy or heterogeneity, confirming the robustness of our findings. Multivariable MR analysis adjusted for alcohol consumption, BMI, cholelithiasis and C-reactive protein levels supported these findings. Replicated analysis was performed on datasets from the FinnGen Biobank Consortium and East Asian descendants, and similar results were obtained. Conclusions: This MR analysis suggests that there is no causal association between glucocorticoid use and the risk of pancreatitis.

    Keywords: acute pancreatitis, Chronic pancreatitis, glucocorticoid, Mendelian randomization, risk factor

    Received: 21 Apr 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lin, Zheng, Wang, Lin, Ni, Pan, Zippi, Fiorino and Hong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Wandong Hong, First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.