Causal Association Between Gut Microbiota and Sleep Apnoea Identified by Bayesian Weighted Mendelian Randomisation

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Genetics
• Sleep medicine

Background:

• Gut microbiota (GM) plays a crucial role in human health.
• Sleep apnoea is a common sleep disorder with complex etiology.
• The causal relationship between GM and sleep apnoea remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential causal relationship between gut microbiota and sleep apnoea using a robust genetic analysis.
• To identify specific gut microbial taxa that may causally influence the risk or protection of sleep apnoea.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) framework with summary-level genome-wide association study (GWAS) data.
• Employed inverse variance-weighted (IVW) as the primary analysis method, supported by MR-Egger, weighted median, and Bayesian Weighted Mendelian Randomisation (BWMR) for sensitivity.
• Conducted comprehensive sensitivity analyses including heterogeneity (Cochran's Q), pleiotropy (MR-Egger intercept, MR-PRESSO), and leave-one-out analyses.

Main Results:

• Identified 33 gut microbial traits associated with sleep apnoea (p < 0.05) via IVW.
• BWMR confirmed 24 gut microbial traits with significant causal effects, including 10 protective and 14 risk associations.
• Sensitivity analyses supported the robustness of findings, with minimal evidence of significant pleiotropy or heterogeneity for most associations.

Conclusions:

• Provides strong genetic evidence supporting a potential causal role for gut microbiota in sleep apnoea.
• Identifies specific gut microbial signatures that may represent novel targets for sleep apnoea prevention or treatment.
• Highlights the utility of MR in dissecting complex host-microbiome interactions relevant to disease.