Causal Inference on Association Between Metabolic Syndrome and Breast Cancer: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study
10.3971/j.issn.1000-8578.2026.25.0696
- VernacularTitle:代谢综合征与乳腺癌：一项双向两样本孟德尔随机化研究的因果推断
- Author:
Yi DU
1
;
Mengyao XUE
1
;
Huiying CHEN
1
;
Ying SUN
1
;
Tianyu LUO
1
;
Haidong SUN
1
Author Information
1. Department of Surgery, Shenzhen Hospital (Fu Tian) of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen 518000, China.
- Publication Type:CLINICALRESEARCH
- Keywords:
Metabolic syndrome;
Breast cancer;
Bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization
- From:
Cancer Research on Prevention and Treatment
2026;53(4):267-273
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective To investigate the causal relationship between metabolic syndrome and breast cancer by using a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Methods Genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for metabolic syndrome and breast cancer were acquired from the Integrative Epidemiology Unit GWAS database and the GWAS Catalog, with populations encompassing the United States and East Asia. A bidirectional causal design was employed: a forward analysis with metabolic syndrome as the exposure and breast cancer as the outcome, followed by a reverse analysis wherein their roles were interchanged. The inverse-variance weighting (IVW) method was primarily used for effect estimation, supplemented by MR-Egger regression, the weighted median method, the simple mode method, and the weighted mode method. Instrument variable strength was screened using the F-statistic (F>10). Robustness of the results was assessed through heterogeneity tests, horizontal pleiotropy tests, forest plots, and leave-one-out sensitivity analyses. Results The IVW analysis indicated no significant causal relationship between metabolic syndrome and breast cancer (OR=1.00, 95%CI: 0.97-1.03), P>0.05). Sensitivity analyses yielded consistent results, suggesting the good robustness of the study findings. Conclusion This study found no evidence to support a causal relationship, either positive or negative, between metabolic syndrome and breast cancer.
