Causal effects of gut microbiota on risk of overactive bladder symptoms: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Clinical observations indicate a correlation between the gut microbiota and overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms. Nevertheless, the causal relationship and mechanisms between gut microbiota and OAB symptoms remain elusive.

Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were performed to assess the association between gut microbiota and OAB symptoms, including urinary incontinence (UI). Data were obtained from the MiBioGen International Consortium genome-wide association studies (GWAS) dataset and the IEU GWAS database. The inverse variance weighted method was used as the primary approach in the MR analysis, with the weighted median, MR-Egger, and weighted mode methods as supplementary approaches. Sensitivity analyses were employed to assess potential violations of the MR assumptions.

Our analysis identified seven gut bacterial taxa with a causal relationship to OAB and nine gut bacterial taxa associated with UI. Genera Eubacteriumfissicatenumgroup, LachnospiraceaeNK4A136group, and Romboutsia were identified as protective factors against OAB, while genera Barnesiella, FamilyXIIIAD3011group, Odoribacter, and RuminococcaceaeUCG005 were associated with an increased risk of OAB. A higher abundance of the genus Coprococcus3, order Burkholderiales, and phylum Verrucomicrobia predicted a lower risk of UI. Conversely, the class Mollicutes, genus Ruminococcus gauvreauii group, order Mollicutes RF9, and phylum Firmicutes and Tenericutes were positively correlated with UI risk. The sensitivity analysis excluded the influence of potential heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy.

This study revealed a causal relationship between gut microbiota and OAB symptoms, providing new insights and a theoretical foundation to identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets for patients with OAB symptoms.