Causal Associations between Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM <sub>2.5</sub>), PM <sub>2.5</sub> Absorbance, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Risk: Evidence from a Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

Xu ZHANG; Zhi Meng WU; Lu ZHANG; Bing Long XIN; Xiang Rui WANG; Xin Lan LU; Gui Fang LU; Mu Dan REN; Shui Xiang HE; Ya Rui LI

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Causal Associations between Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM _2.5), PM _2.5 Absorbance, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Risk: Evidence from a Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

Author: Xu ZHANG ¹ ; Zhi Meng WU ² ; Lu ZHANG ³ ; Bing Long XIN ⁴ ; Xiang Rui WANG ² ; Xin Lan LU ¹ ; Gui Fang LU ¹ ; Mu Dan REN ¹ ; Shui Xiang HE ¹ ; Ya Rui LI ¹
Author Information

1. Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China;Shannxi clinical research center of digestive disease (cancer division), Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
2. Shannxi clinical research center of digestive disease (cancer division), Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China;Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, China.
3. Department of Urology, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200001, China;State Key Laboratory of Systems Medicine for Cancer, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai 200001, China.
4. Shanxi Institute of Science and Technology, Jincheng 048011, Shanxi, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Mendelian randomization; Particulate matter 2.5
MeSH: Humans; Mendelian Randomization Analysis; Particulate Matter/analysis*; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases/genetics*; Air Pollutants/analysis*; Crohn Disease/genetics*; Colitis, Ulcerative/genetics*; Genome-Wide Association Study; Risk Factors; Environmental Exposure
From: Biomedical and Environmental Sciences 2025;38(2):167-177
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:Several epidemiological observational studies have related particulate matter (PM) exposure to Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but many confounding factors make it difficult to draw causal links from observational studies. The objective of this study was to explore the causal association between PM _2.5 exposure, its absorbance, and IBD.
METHODS:We assessed the association of PM _2.5 and PM _2.5 absorbance with the two primary forms of IBD (Crohn's disease [CD] and ulcerative colitis [UC]) using Mendelian randomization (MR) to explore the causal relationship. We conducted two-sample MR analyses with aggregated data from the UK Biobank genome-wide association study. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms linked with PM _2.5 concentrations or their absorbance were used as instrumental variables (IVs). We used inverse variance weighting (IVW) as the primary analytical approach and four other standard methods as supplementary analyses for quality control.
RESULTS:The results of MR demonstrated that PM _2.5 had an adverse influence on UC risk (odds ratio [ OR] = 1.010; 95% confidence interval [ CI] = 1.001-1.019, P = 0.020). Meanwhile, the results of IVW showed that PM _2.5 absorbance was also causally associated with UC ( OR = 1.012; 95% CI = 1.004-1.019, P = 0.002). We observed no causal relationship between PM _2.5, PM _2.5 absorbance, and CD. The results of sensitivity analysis indicated the absence of heterogeneity or pleiotropy, ensuring the reliability of MR results.
CONCLUSION:Based on two-sample MR analyses, there are potential positive causal relationships between PM _2.5, PM _2.5 absorbance, and UC.

Causal Associations between Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5), PM 2.5 Absorbance, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Risk: Evidence from a Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

Causal Associations between Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM _2.5), PM _2.5 Absorbance, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Risk: Evidence from a Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.