Objective To analyze the causal association of telomere length with prostate cancer in East Asian and European popula-tions using Mendelian randomization.Methods Using published genome-wide association data,single nucleotide polymorphisms signif-icantly associated with telomere length were screened as instrumental variables.The primary research method was Mendelian randomization analysis using a random effects model with inverse variance weighted method.Complementary analyses were also performed using Mende-lian randomization-Egger method,weighted median method,simple model and weighted model methods to explore the causal relationship between telomere length and prostate cancer.In addition,the robustness of the results was assessed by sensitivity analyses.Results The results of the inverse variance weighted method analysis showed a positive causal relationship between genetically predicted telomere length and prostate cancer risk in East Asian(OR=1.420,95％CI:1.149-1.755,P=0.001)and European populations(OR=1.358,95％CI:1.242-1.484,P=1.727 × 10-11).The results of the remaining four analyses showed statistical significance(P＜0.05),and the odds ratio was in the same direction as that of the inverse variance weighted method.Sensitivity analyses also showed the robustness of the results.Conclusion Individuals with genetically predicted longer telomere length may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer in East Asian and European populations.

Objective To analyze the causal association of telomere length with prostate cancer in East Asian and European popula-tions using Mendelian randomization.Methods Using published genome-wide association data,single nucleotide polymorphisms signif-icantly associated with telomere length were screened as instrumental variables.The primary research method was Mendelian randomization analysis using a random effects model with inverse variance weighted method.Complementary analyses were also performed using Mende-lian randomization-Egger method,weighted median method,simple model and weighted model methods to explore the causal relationship between telomere length and prostate cancer.In addition,the robustness of the results was assessed by sensitivity analyses.Results The results of the inverse variance weighted method analysis showed a positive causal relationship between genetically predicted telomere length and prostate cancer risk in East Asian(OR=1.420,95％CI:1.149-1.755,P=0.001)and European populations(OR=1.358,95％CI:1.242-1.484,P=1.727 × 10-11).The results of the remaining four analyses showed statistical significance(P＜0.05),and the odds ratio was in the same direction as that of the inverse variance weighted method.Sensitivity analyses also showed the robustness of the results.Conclusion Individuals with genetically predicted longer telomere length may be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer in East Asian and European populations.