Ascertaining the association between smoking behaviors and viral hepatitis risk: A Mendelian randomization approach

Viral hepatitis, caused by various hepatitis viruses, is a global health threat leading to chronic liver disease, hepatic cirrhosis, hepatic failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Smoking, a known risk factor for numerous chronic diseases, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of viral hepatitis. However, understanding the relationship between smoking and viral hepatitis is complex due to the presence of confounding factors and the potential for reverse associations.

We utilized Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to explore the potential association between smoking behavior and viral hepatitis. In this study, SNPs were utilized as instrumental variables in a Mendelian randomization framework to examine the relationship between smoking behavior and viral hepatitis risk. To ensure the accuracy of the experiment, our data were sourced from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and analyzed using a series of methods, such as inverse variance weighting (IVW) and leave-one-out analysis.

The MR analysis revealed significant positive associations between SNPs related to smoking initiation, status, and cessation, and the risk of viral hepatitis. The IVW method demonstrated a consistent rightward shift of the effect estimates, indicating a potential increase in viral hepatitis risk associated with smoking exposure. Smoking initiation, status, and cessation were associated with increased odds of viral hepatitis by 2.17-fold (95% CI: 1.45-3.24, p=0.00015), 2.93-fold (95% CI: 1.58-5.41, p=0.00061), and 5.30-fold (95% CI: 2.05-13.70, p=0.00057), respectively. The leave-one-out analysis further validated the robustness of our model, with minor SNP-specific deviations observed.

Our study presents strong associations between smoking behavior and an elevated risk of viral hepatitis, highlighting the need for further investigation into this potential connection. These findings underscore the importance of smoking cessation in liver disease management and inform public health strategies aimed at reducing the burden of viral hepatitis.