Hypertension and frozen shoulder: A bidirectional 2-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Epidemiology
• Cardiovascular Medicine

Background:

• Observational studies suggest an association between hypertension and frozen shoulder (FS).
• The causal relationship between hypertension and FS remains unclear.
• Genetic factors may underlie the observed association.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential bidirectional genetic causation between hypertension and frozen shoulder (FS).
• Utilizing a 2-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to explore genetic links.

Main Methods:

• Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data were used to identify genetic variants.
• Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed bidirectionally.
• Inverse-variance weighted (IVW) analysis was the primary method, supported by MR-Egger, weighted median, and other sensitivity analyses to ensure robustness.

Main Results:

• A significant negative genetic association was found between hypertension and frozen shoulder (FS) (OR: 0.923, P=0.018).
• No significant causal effect of frozen shoulder (FS) on the risk of developing hypertension was observed (OR: 0.867, P=0.063).
• Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the findings and indicated no significant pleiotropy or heterogeneity.

Conclusions:

• Hypertension may have a protective genetic effect against frozen shoulder (FS).
• There is no evidence of a causal effect of frozen shoulder (FS) on hypertension risk.
• The study concludes no reciprocal genetic causation exists between hypertension and frozen shoulder (FS).