Rosacea and autoimmune liver diseases: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Genetics
• Hepatology

Background:

• Rosacea and autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs) involve immune system dysregulation.
• AILDs encompass autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
• Limited research exists on the association between rosacea and AILDs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate potential causal relationships between rosacea and AILDs using genetic data.
• To explore the bidirectional association between rosacea and specific AILDs (AIH, PBC, PSC).

Main Methods:

• Employed bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
• Utilized summary data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for rosacea and AILDs.
• Applied inverse variance weighted (IVW) as the primary method, with MR-Egger, weighted mode, and weighted median for sensitivity analyses.

Main Results:

• A significant association was found between primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and an increased risk of rosacea (OR = 1.09, P = 0.014).
• No significant causal link was detected between rosacea and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) or primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
• Rosacea did not demonstrate a significant impact on the risk of developing AILDs.

Conclusions:

• This study is the first to explore the causal relationship between rosacea and AILDs via MR analysis.
• Findings suggest that patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) have a higher risk of developing rosacea.
• No evidence supports a causal effect of rosacea on the incidence of AIH, PBC, or PSC.