The correlation between gut microbiota and interstitial cystitis has garnered significant attention in previous studies. Nevertheless, the causal relationship between them remains to be clarified.
Genetic variation serves as a tool in Mendelian randomization analyses, facilitating the inference of causal relationships between exposure factors and disease outcomes. In this study, summary statistics derived from a comprehensive genome-wide association study conducted by the MiBioGen consortium were utilized as exposure factors, while interstitial cystitis data sourced from the GWAS Catalog served as the disease outcome. Then, a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis was performed by applying inverse variance-weighted, MR-Egger, Weighted Median, Simple Mode, and Weighted Mode. In addition, heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy were excluded by sensitivity analysis.
IVW results confirmed that genus
Our analysis has identified a causal relationship between specific genera and interstitial cystitis. However, further validation through randomized controlled trials is essential to substantiate these findings.