Depression and prostate cancer risk: A Mendelian randomization study.
Xiong Chen1,2, Jianqiu Kong1,2, Xiayao Diao1,2
1Department of Urology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P. R. China.
Cancer Medicine
|October 7, 2020
Summary
This study found no causal link between depression and prostate cancer risk. Mendelian randomization analysis suggests that major depressive disorder does not increase the likelihood of developing prostate cancer.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Genetics
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Observational studies suggest a link between depression and prostate cancer.
- Causality between depression and prostate cancer (PCa) has remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causal effect of depression on prostate cancer risk.
- Utilized two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) for causal inference.
Main Methods:
- Employed two sets of genetic instruments for major depressive disorder (MDD) and depressive status.
- Applied multiple MR methods including inverse-variance weighted, weighted median, and MR-Egger regression.
Main Results:
- No significant causal association was found between MDD and PCa risk (e.g., OR 1.12, p=0.135).
- Depressive status also showed no strong evidence of a causal effect on PCa incidence (OR 0.72, p=0.364).
Conclusions:
- Large-scale Mendelian randomization analysis indicates depression is likely not causally associated with prostate cancer risk.
- Findings suggest that observed associations may not reflect a direct causal relationship.
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