Table_9_Independent associations of education, intelligence, and cognition with gastrointestinal diseases and the mediating effects of risk factors: a Mendelian randomization study.XLSX

BackgroundEducation, intelligence and cognition affect occupational performance and socioeconomic status and may influence virous diseases development. However, the impact of these factors on gastrointestinal diseases and their mediating risk factors remains unclear.
MethodsWe utilized genome-wide association studies from European ancestry populations to perform two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses, aiming to estimate genetic instruments associated with education, intelligence, or cognition in relation to 24 gastrointestinal diseases Subsequently, we evaluated 14 potential mediators of this association and calculated the corresponding mediated proportions through two-step Mendelian randomization analyses.
ResultAs the dominant factor in gastrointestinal diseases, education had a statistically significant association with 2 gastrointestinal diseases (acute pancreatitis, gastroesophageal reflux) and a suggestive association with 6 diseases (cirrhosis, alcoholic liver disease, cholecystitis, cholelithiasis, chronic gastritis and gastric ulcer). Of the 14 mediators, smoking and adiposity traits played a major role in mediating the effects.
ConclusionThe study demonstrated the causal, independent impact of education on specific gastrointestinal diseases. Smoking and adiposity traits emerged as primary mediators, illuminating potential avenues for targeted interventions for prevention of them.

研究背景 教育程度、智力与认知水平会影响职业表现与社会经济地位，亦可能对多种疾病的发生发展产生影响。然而，上述因素对胃肠道疾病的影响及其介导的风险因素目前仍尚不明确。
研究方法 本研究使用欧洲血统人群的全基因组关联研究（genome-wide association studies）数据开展两样本孟德尔随机化（Mendelian randomization）分析，旨在筛选与教育程度、智力或认知水平相关的遗传工具变量，以探究其与24种胃肠道疾病的关联；随后通过两步孟德尔随机化分析，评估该关联中的14种潜在介导因子，并计算相应的介导比例。
研究结果 作为胃肠道疾病相关的核心影响因素，教育程度与2种胃肠道疾病（急性胰腺炎、胃食管反流病）存在统计学意义上的显著关联，与另外6种疾病（肝硬化、酒精性肝病、胆囊炎、胆石症、慢性胃炎及胃溃疡）存在提示性关联。在14种潜在介导因子中，吸烟与肥胖相关性状在介导上述效应中发挥了主要作用。
研究结论 本研究证实了教育程度对特定胃肠道疾病存在因果性、独立性的影响；吸烟与肥胖相关性状是主要的介导因子，为此类疾病的靶向预防干预提供了潜在方向。