COVID-19 vaccination and the risk of autoimmune diseases: a Mendelian randomization study

• DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1322140
• Publication Date: 2024-03-14T08:27:10Z
• Authors: Jiayi Shan; Xiaoyun Hu; Tianzhu Chen; Yuyang Wang; Baoyi Huang; Yijun Xin; Hua Xu
• Keywords: Mendelian Randomization; Genome-wide Association Study

Background In recent times, reports have emerged suggesting that a variety of autoimmune disorders may arise after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination. However, causality and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Methods We collected summary statistics COVID-19 vaccination 31 diseases from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) as exposure outcome, respectively. Random-effects inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR Egger, weighted median, simple mode, mode were used analytical methods through Mendelian randomization (MR), heterogeneity sensitivity analysis performed. Results selected 72 instrumental variables for ( p < 5 × 10 −6 ; r2 0.001, genetic distance = 10,000 kb), analyses showed was causally associated with an increased risk multiple sclerosis (MS) (IVW, OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.065–2.197, 0.026) ulcerative colitis (UC) 1.00, 1.000–1.003, 0.039). If refined −8 associations became negative. No found remaining outcomes. These results robust to analyses. Conclusion Our study provided potential evidence impact on MS UC occurrence, but it lacks sufficient robustness, which could provide new idea public health policy.