AUTHOR=Hu Xiaohua , Li Yutong , Qu Hua , He Chunying , Chen Zhiyan , Zhan Min , Du Yida , Wang Huan , Chen Wenjie , Sun Linjuan , Ning Xia 

TITLE=No genetic link between Parkinson’s disease and SARS-CoV-2 infection: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2024.1393888

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2024.1393888

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<sec id="sec1"><title>Objective</title><p>Existing literature has not clearly elucidated whether SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the incidence of Parkinson’s disease or if Parkinson’s disease patients are more susceptible to the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To clarify the issue, this study employs a genetic epidemiological approach to investigate the association.</p></sec><sec id="sec2"><title>Methods</title><p>This study utilizes a two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis. The primary analysis employs the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method, supplemented by secondary analyses including MR-Egger regression, weighted median, IVW radial method, and weighted mode, to evaluate the bidirectional causal relationship between Parkinson’s disease and SARS-CoV-2 infection.</p></sec><sec id="sec3"><title>Results</title><p>IVW results showed no genetic causality between SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility, hospitalization rate and severity and Parkinson’s disease. (IVW method: <italic>p</italic> = 0.408 OR = 1.10 95% CI: 0.87 ~ 1.39; <italic>p</italic> = 0.744 OR = 1.11 95% CI: 0.94 ~ 1.09; <italic>p</italic> = 0.436 OR = 1.05 95% CI: 0.93 ~ 1.17). Parkinson’s disease was not genetically associated with susceptibility to new crown infections, hospitalization rates, and severity (IVW method: <italic>p</italic> = 0.173 OR = 1.01 95% CI: 0.99 ~ 1.03; <italic>p</italic> = 0.109 OR = 1.05 95% CI: 0.99 ~ 1.12; <italic>p</italic> = 0.209 OR = 1.03 95% CI: 0.99 ~ 1.07). MR-Egger regression, weighted median, IVW radial method, and weighted mode results are consistent with the results of the IVW method.</p></sec><sec id="sec4"><title>Conclusion</title><p>This study does not support a genetic link between Parkinson’s disease and SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the association observed in previous cohort studies and observational studies may be due to other confounding factors.</p></sec>