Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 19 autoimmune diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Abstract

Background Observational studies suggest a connection between autoimmune diseases (AD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Nevertheless, the causality between AD and ADHD is yet to be determined. Therefore, we're employing a twin-sample analysis on Mendelian randomization, with a view to exploring the causality between ADHD and 19 AD. Method We evaluated the total statistics of the latest Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) for ADHD2022 (38691 cases, 186843 controls) and 19 common ADs, including Autoimmune thyroiditis, Type 1 diabetes, Celiac disease, Vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, multiple sclerosis, Graves' disease, Sjogren's syndrome, Iridocyclitis, Ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, Psoriasis, Alopecia areata, Vitiligo, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Myasthenia gravis, Systemic sclerosis, Systemic lupus erythematosus, Ankylosing spondylitis. These summary statistics originated in publicly assessible, relatively large-scale GWAS meta-analyses conducted to date. The causality between ADHD and 19 ADs using inverse variance weighting (IVW), MR-Egger, and weighted median approaches. Cochran's Q statistic was adopted, for the purpose of measuring the heterogeneity of the instrumental variable (IV). Result The result indicate that ADHD potentially increases the risk of vitiligo (IVW OR = 2.385, 95%CI, 1.054–5.398, P = 3.69e-02) and suggests an association between ADHD and increased hazard of rheumatoid arthritis (IVW OR = 1.092, 95%CI, 1.009–1.182, P = 2.94e-02). However, no other significant causal relationships were observed in our analyses. Conclusion In this research, the causalities between ADHD and 19 ADs were comprehensively assessed. Besides, it was identified genetic evidence suggesting possible causalities between ADHD and vitiligo along with rheumatoid arthritis in European populations.