The Association between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Venous Thromboembolism: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian...

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Research
• Sleep Medicine
• Genetics

Background:

• Observational studies suggest a link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and venous thromboembolism (VTE), but findings are inconsistent.
• This controversy necessitates further investigation into the potential causal relationship between OSA and VTE.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential causal association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) using genetic data.
• To explore the relationship in both directions: OSA influencing VTE risk and VTE influencing OSA risk.

Main Methods:

• A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was employed.
• Summary-level data from large-scale genome-wide association studies in European populations were utilized.
• Inverse variance weighted, MR-Egger, weighted median, and MR-PRESSO methods were used, alongside sensitivity analyses.

Main Results:

• Genetically predicted obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) showed no significant effect on the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), including pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
• Reverse Mendelian randomization analysis also found no substantial evidence of an association between VTE and OSA.
• Sensitivity analyses and complementary MR methods corroborated the primary findings.

Conclusions:

• The study found no genetic evidence to support a significant association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and venous thromboembolism (VTE).
• The bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis indicates no causal relationship between OSA and VTE in either direction.