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The causal association between inflammatory bowel disease and pancreatitis: A 2-sample Mendelian randomization study
Zetian Gao1, Xie Zhang, Dihui Cai
1The Affiliated Lihuili Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
Medicine
|July 31, 2026
Summary
Mendelian randomization analysis suggests inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) increases the risk of pancreatitis. This study establishes a potential causal link between IBD and pancreatitis, including acute and chronic forms.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology and Genetics
- Epidemiology and Public Health
Background:
- Clinical observations suggest a link between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pancreatitis.
- However, a definitive causal relationship between IBD and pancreatitis remains unestablished.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential causal associations between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and pancreatitis using Mendelian randomization (MR).
Main Methods:
- Employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
- Utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for IBD from the International Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium.
- Incorporated summary statistics for pancreatitis from the FinnGen database and BioBank Japan, applying inverse-variance weighting (IVW) and sensitivity analyses.
Main Results:
- In European populations, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) showed a causal association with increased risk for both acute pancreatitis (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP).
- Crohn's disease (CD) was associated with higher risks of AP and CP, while ulcerative colitis (UC) showed increased risk for AP.
- In East Asian populations, ulcerative colitis (UC) demonstrated a causal association with chronic pancreatitis (CP).
Conclusions:
- The study provides evidence for a potential causal relationship between IBD and pancreatitis in European populations.
- Specific IBD subtypes, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are causally associated with different forms of pancreatitis.
- A causal link between ulcerative colitis and chronic pancreatitis was identified in East Asian populations.
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