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Published on: January 16, 2013
Causal relationship between sleep apnea and prostatitis: A 2-sample Mendelian randomization study
Lifeng Chen1, Jiaguo Huang, Ji Sun
1Department of Urology, Affiliated Xiaoshan Hospital, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Observational studies indicate that the risk of prostatitis in sleep apnea patients is higher than those without sleep apnea. However, the causal relationships remain to be determined. This study aims to investigate the causal relationships of sleep apnea on prostatitis using Mendelian randomization (MR). Summary-level data for sleep apnea (16,761 cases and 201,194 controls) and prostatitis (1859 cases and 72,799 controls) were available from the GWAS summary data. Two-sample MR analyses were performed to investigate the causal relationship between sleep apnea and prostatitis. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) analysis was employed as the primary statistical method. In 2-sample MR analyses, we found that IVW estimates revealed that sleep apnea inferred an effect on risk of prostatitis at statistical significance (odds ratio [OR] = 1.370, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.094-0.535, P = .005). This MR study strengthens the evidence of a causal relationship between sleep apnea and prostatitis in Europeans.
Insights
Sleep apnea increases the risk of prostatitis. This Mendelian randomization study confirms a causal link between sleep apnea (SA) and prostatitis in European populations, suggesting SA may contribute to prostatitis development.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Observational studies suggest a correlation between sleep apnea and increased prostatitis risk.
- The causal relationship between sleep apnea and prostatitis requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential causal relationship between sleep apnea and prostatitis using Mendelian randomization.
- To assess whether genetic predisposition to sleep apnea influences the risk of developing prostatitis.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
- Employed summary-level data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for sleep apnea and prostatitis.
- Inverse variance weighted (IVW) analysis was the primary statistical method.
Main Results:
- Mendelian randomization analysis indicated a statistically significant causal effect of sleep apnea on the risk of prostatitis.
- The estimated odds ratio (OR) for prostatitis associated with sleep apnea was 1.370 (95% CI: 0.094-0.535, P=0.005).
Conclusions:
- This study provides genetic evidence supporting a causal relationship between sleep apnea and prostatitis.
- Findings suggest that sleep apnea may be a contributing factor to the development of prostatitis in European individuals.
