Investigating Causal Relationships Between Psychiatric Traits and Intracranial Aneurysms: A Bi-directional Two-Sample...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genetics
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Observational studies suggest associations between psychiatric traits and intracranial aneurysms (IAs).
• Causal relationships between psychiatric conditions and IAs remain largely undefined.
• Investigating these links is crucial for understanding IA etiology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the causal relationship between ten psychiatric traits and IAs using genetic data.
• To determine if psychiatric traits causally influence the risk of developing IAs.
• To explore potential reverse causality from IAs to psychiatric traits.

Main Methods:

• Genome-wide association statistics for IAs and ten psychiatric traits from European ancestry populations were utilized.
• Bi-directional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were performed.
• The Robust Adjusted Profile Score (RAPS) method was the primary analytical approach.

Main Results:

• Insomnia demonstrated a significant causal risk effect on IAs (OR=1.22, p=4.61×10⁻⁵).
• Mood instability provided suggestive evidence of a causal risk effect on IAs (OR=4.16, p=0.047).
• No significant causal effects were found for other psychiatric traits or in the reverse direction.

Conclusions:

• Strong evidence supports a causal role of insomnia in increasing IA risk.
• Suggestive evidence indicates mood instability may also causally increase IA risk.
• Findings can inform prevention strategies and clinical interventions for IAs.