Assessment of Bidirectional Relationships between Mental Illness and Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

Abstract

A correlation between mental illness and systemic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been observed in several prior investigations. However, little is known about the causative relationship between them. The present study aimed to systematically investigate the potential association between genetically determined mental illness and RA. Two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed using publicly released genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We selected independent genetic variants associated with four mental illnesses (bipolar disorder, broad depression, major depression, and anxiety) as instrumental variables. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used as the primary analysis to assess the causal relationship between mental illness and RA. Results of the IVW analysis suggested that genetic predisposition to bipolar disorder was associated with a decreased risk of RA (odds ratio [OR] = 0.825, 95% CI = 0.716 to 0.95, p = 0.007). Furthermore, we did not find a significant causal effect of RA on bipolar disorder in the reverse MR analysis (p > 0.05). In addition, our study found no evidence of a bidirectional causal relationship between genetically predicted broad depression, major depression, anxiety, and RA (p > 0.05). The genetically proxied bipolar disorder population has a lower RA risk, which may indicate that there is a hidden mechanism for inhibiting the pathogenesis of RA in bipolar disorder. However, results do not support a causal connection between depression, anxiety, and RA.

Bidirectional causal relationship between psychiatric disorders and osteoarthritis: A univariate and multivariate Mendelian randomization study

“…Previous MR research suggested a causal relationship between bipolar disorder and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with bipolar disorder acting as a protective factor for RA (Xiang et al., 2023). However, no causal association between bipolar disorder and OA has been reported, making our study a pioneering effort to bridge this knowledge gap.…”

“…acting as a protective factor for RA (Xiang et al, 2023). However, no causal association between bipolar disorder and OA has been reported, making our study a pioneering effort to bridge this knowledge gap.…”

Correlation of DAS 28 Score and Treatment Compliance with Depression and Anxiety in Rheumatoid Arthritis

“…This study aims to examine how DAS 28 scores and adherence to treatment correlate with depression and anxiety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It investigates the impact of psychological factors on treatment compliance, emphasizing the importance of integrating mental health care in RA management to enhance overall patient outcomes and quality of life (14)(15)(16). The research advocates for a comprehensive approach that addresses both the physical symptoms and psychological well-being of RA patients.…”