The causality between gut microbiota and functional dyspepsia: A two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis.

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Microbiome Research
• Genetics

Background:

• Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a common gastrointestinal disorder with complex etiology.
• The role of gut microbiota in FD pathogenesis is increasingly recognized but not fully elucidated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal relationship between gut microbiota and functional dyspepsia (FD) using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.
• To identify specific gut microbial taxa associated with FD risk.

Main Methods:

• Utilized genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data for gut microbiota (n=18,340) and FD (n=189,695 controls, 4376 cases).
• Employed inverse variance weighted (IVW) analysis as the primary method for MR analysis.
• Conducted sensitivity analyses to assess pleiotropy and heterogeneity, ensuring result reliability.

Main Results:

• Identified seven gut microbial taxa significantly associated with FD.
• Positive associations with FD were observed for Order/Family Erysipelotrichales, Genus Haemophilus, Genus Ruminiclostridium 9, and Genus Lachnospiraceae NK4A 136 group.
• Inverse associations with FD were found for Class Gammaproteobacteria and Genus Erysipelatoclostridium.

Conclusions:

• This MR study provides genetic evidence supporting a link between specific gut microbiota and functional dyspepsia.
• Findings suggest that alterations in gut microbial composition may contribute to FD development.
• Further research is warranted to explore the mechanisms underlying the gut microbiota-FD relationship.