Causal relationship between dried fruit intake and meniscal injuries: Two-sample Mendelian randomization

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Epidemiology
• Orthopedics
• Genetic Epidemiology

Background:

• Meniscal injuries are common orthopedic conditions with multifactorial causes.
• Dietary factors, such as dried fruit consumption, are increasingly recognized for their potential role in musculoskeletal health.
• Understanding the causal relationship between diet and specific injuries is crucial for preventative strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential causal link between dried fruit intake and the risk of meniscal injuries.
• To leverage genetic data to establish a robust association, minimizing confounding factors.
• To identify dietary components that may influence orthopedic injury risk.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design.
• Employed large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from European populations.
• Applied inverse variance weighting (IVW), weighted median (WME), and MR-Egger methods for causal inference.

Main Results:

• A significant inverse causal relationship was observed between dried fruit intake and meniscal injuries (OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.28-0.78, P=0.003).
• Sensitivity analyses, including heterogeneity and multiplicity tests, confirmed the robustness of the findings.
• The 'leave-one-out' method further supported the reliability of the results.

Conclusions:

• Insufficient intake of dried fruit appears to be a risk factor for developing meniscal injuries.
• This genetic evidence supports a protective role for dried fruit consumption against meniscal injuries.
• Findings suggest potential dietary interventions for meniscal injury prevention.