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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Surg.
Sec. Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2025.1436227

Mendelian Randomization Analysis Reveals Causal Relationship between Tonsillectomy and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Provisionally accepted
Huaiquan LIU Huaiquan LIU Shuoshuo Shao Shuoshuo Shao *Bo Chen Bo Chen *Shili Yang Shili Yang Xinyan Zhang Xinyan Zhang *
  • Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China

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

    Objective: This study used two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) method to evaluate the causal relationship between tonsillectomy and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Methods: We selected tonsillectomy as the exposure factor and IBS as the outcome variable, using GWAS data from the IEU Open GWAS project.Instrumental variables (IVs) were SNPs strongly correlated and independent of tonsillectomy. MR-PRESSO was used for outlier removal. IVW was the primary MR analysis method, supplemented by MR-Egger regression, WM, WME, and simple mode. Cochran's Q and Rücker Q tests assessed heterogeneity. MR-Egger intercept tested horizontal pleiotropy. Sensitivity analysis used a leave-one-out method.The IVW analysis indicated a positive association between genetically predicted tonsillectomy and IBS (OR=1.682, 95% CI: 1.157~2.446, P=0.006).Heterogeneity tests revealed the presence of heterogeneity at the SNPs (Cochran Q test, P=3.13E-05, and Rücker Q test P=2.35E-05). The MR-Egger intercept test did not detect horizontal pleiotropy (egger_intercept=0.000914, P=0.789). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated the stability of the results. All F-statistics were greater than 10, indicating the absence of weak instrument bias. Conclusion: Genetics predicts a positive causal relationship between tonsillectomy and IBS, suggesting that prevention of IBS in tonsillectomy patients should be enhanced.

    Keywords: Tonsillectomy, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Mendelian randomization, causal relationship, Instrumental variables

    Received: 21 May 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 LIU, Shao, Chen, Yang and Zhang. 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:
    Shuoshuo Shao, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
    Bo Chen, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
    Xinyan Zhang, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China

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