The causal association between COVID-19 and ischemic stroke: a mendelian randomization study

Current observational data indicates that ischemic stroke (IS) affects a significant proportion of people with COVID-19. The current study sought to evaluate the causal relationship between COVID-19 and IS.

A two-sample Mendelian randomization (2 S-MR) approach was used to probe the relationship between genetic determinants of three COVID-19 parameters (SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 hospitalization, and severe COVID-19) and the incidence of IS based on genome-wide association studies (GWAS) data. Using this 2 S-MR technique, expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and GWAS studies were further assessed for overlap to identify common causative genes associated with severe COVID-19 and IS.

IVW approaches indicated the genetic variants linked to COVID-19 hospitalization (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01-1.08, p = 0.023) and severe COVID-19 (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05, p = 0.007) were both significantly linked to greater odds of IS. In contrast, there was no causal association between genetic SARS-CoV-2 infection susceptibility and the occurrence of IS (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.92-1.06, p = 0.694). Ten shared causal genes (TNFSF8, CFL2, TPM1, C15orf39, LHFPL6, FAM20C, SPAG9, KCNJ2, PELI1, and HLA-L) were established as possible mediators of the interplay between severe COVID-19 and the development of IS, with these genes primarily being enriched in immune-related and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system pathways.

These findings indicate a possible causative relationship between IS risk and COVID-19 severity, offering crucial new information for managing COVID-19 patients. Promising options for therapeutic therapies for severe COVID-19 complicated by IS include the common genes found in the present study.