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The following is a summary of “Mendelian randomization studies of risk and protective factors for osteoporosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the January 2025 issue of Endocrinology by Ji et al.
Mendelian randomization is thought to reduce biases in observational studies, but no meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization studies in osteoporosis has been conducted to date.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the link between potential causal factors and osteoporosis risk by synthesizing evidence from Mendelian randomization studies.
They searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase for Mendelian randomization studies on osteoporosis factors up to May 2024. Meta-analyses were performed to examine associations between potential pathogenic factors and osteoporosis. Study quality was assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology via Mendelian Randomization (STROBE-MR) guidelines.
The results showed 706 articles were screened, with 53 included in the systematic review and 30 eligible for meta-analysis. Findings revealed that rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, sex hormone binding globulin, depression, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, primary biliary cholangitis, and asthma were linked to a higher osteoporosis risk, while basal metabolic rate and gut microbiota (NB1n) were protective. No significant association was found between obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, metformin, ulcerative colitis, sedentary behaviors, systemic lupus erythematosus, serum iron, and osteoporosis.
Investigators concluded that this meta-analysis identified several causal relationships with the onset and progression of osteoporosis, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, primary biliary cholangitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, depression, sex hormone binding globulin, basal metabolic rate, gut microbiota, and asthma.
Source: frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2024.1486188/full
