Data_Sheet_2_Evidence of a causal relationship between blood pressure and pathological scars: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.PDF

BackgroundRecent advancements in basic medicine and epidemiology suggest a potential influence of blood pressure on scar formation, yet the specifics of this relationship are not fully understood. This study aims to clarify the causal link between blood pressure and the development of pathological scars using Mendelian randomization (MR).
MethodsThis study employed genetic variants closely linked to blood pressure as instrumental variables to explore the relationship between blood pressure and pathological scars. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used for analysis.
ResultsOur analysis identified a notable association where higher blood pressure was correlated with a lower risk of pathological scars. Specifically, an increase in diastolic blood pressure (odds ratio [OR] per standard deviation increase: 0.67 [95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.49–0.99]), systolic blood pressure (OR per standard deviation increase: 0.66 [95% CI, 0.46–0.93]), and hypertension (pooled OR: 0.39 [95% CI, 0.18–0.85]) were significantly associated with a reduced risk of keloids. Similarly, a genetic predisposition to hypertension (pooled OR: 0.31 [95% CI, 0.11–0.89]) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of hypertrophic scars. Neither reverse MR analysis nor Steiger’s test indicated a significant reverse causal relationship between hypertension and either keloids or hypertrophic scars.
ConclusionThe findings suggest a protective role of higher blood pressure against the development of pathological scars, including keloids and hypertrophic scars. However, the inconsistency observed across different MR methods warrants cautious interpretation and underscores the need for further investigation to confirm these findings.

背景：近年来基础医学与流行病学领域的最新研究进展表明，血压可能对瘢痕形成存在潜在影响，但二者关联的具体机制尚未完全阐明。本研究旨在采用孟德尔随机化（Mendelian randomization, MR）方法，明确血压与病理性瘢痕发生之间的因果关联。
方法：本研究选取与血压紧密相关的遗传变异作为工具变量，探究血压与病理性瘢痕之间的关联，并采用逆方差加权（inverse variance weighted, IVW）法开展分析。
结果：本研究分析发现，血压升高与病理性瘢痕的发病风险降低存在显著关联。具体而言，舒张压每升高1个标准差（比值比[odds ratio, OR]：0.67，95%置信区间[confidence interval, CI]：0.49–0.99）、收缩压每升高1个标准差（OR：0.66，95%CI：0.46–0.93）以及高血压（合并OR：0.39，95%CI：0.18–0.85）均与瘢痕疙瘩发病风险的显著降低相关。同样，高血压的遗传易感性（合并OR：0.31，95%CI：0.11–0.89）也与肥厚性瘢痕的发病风险降低显著相关。反向孟德尔随机化分析与Steiger检验均未发现高血压与瘢痕疙瘩或肥厚性瘢痕之间存在显著的反向因果关联。
结论：本研究结果表明，较高的血压对包括瘢痕疙瘩和肥厚性瘢痕在内的病理性瘢痕的发生具有保护作用。但不同孟德尔随机化分析方法所得结果存在不一致性，因此对本研究结果需谨慎解读，同时亦需开展进一步研究以验证上述发现。