Year 2025 / Volume 117 / Number 8
Original
Irritable bowel syndrome and structural brain changes - A two-sample Mendelian randomization study of cortical thickness and surface area

426-432

DOI: 10.17235/reed.2025.10983/2024

Haiya Ou, Zhiming Lai, Xiaopeng Ye, Xiaotong Wang, Haixiong Lin,

Abstract
Background and aims: the relationship between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and structural changes in various regional cortical areas remains unclear. Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to explore the potential association between IBS and structural brain changes. Methods: genetically independent loci associated with IBS in individuals of European ancestry were selected as instrumental variants (IVs) from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Outcome data were obtained from 34 subregions of the cerebral cortex in a population of 51,665 individuals. MR analysis was performed to explore the potential association between IBS and cerebral cortex structure (surface area [SA] and thickness [TH]). Cochran’s Q test and MR-Egger intercept test were used to examined heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). “Leave-one-out” sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the influence of individual SNPs. Results: five relationships were obtained from a total of 68 phenotypes in 34 subregional structures of the cerebral cortex. IVW analysis showed that IBS was associated with increased SA in the inferior temporal and rostral anterior cingulate regions (βSA = 22.810 mm2, PSA = 0.040; βSA = 11.133 mm2, PSA = 0.006). Additionally, IBS was associated with increased TH in the isthmus cingulate and pars opercularis regions (βTH = 0.013 mm, PTH = 0.043; βTH = 0.010 mm, PTH = 0.010), and decreased TH in the rostral anterior cingulate region (βTH = -0.009 mm², PTH = 0.017). Conclusions: there is a potential association between IBS and the cerebral cortex structure. These findings provide important support for the association between diseases related to neurological damage and psychiatric abnormalities in IBS patients.
Lay Summary
The relationship between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and structural changes in various regional cortical areas of the brain remains unclear. Exploring the potential association between IBS and structural brain changes is essential. In this study Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used to explore the potential association between IBS and cerebral cortex structure (34 subregions surface area (SA) and 34 subregions thickness (TH)). Five relationships were obtained from a total of 68 phenotypes in 34 subregional structures of the cerebral cortex and IBS. Specifically, IBS was associated with increased SA in the inferior temporal and rostral anterior cingulate regions. Additionally, IBS was associated with increased TH in the isthmus cingulate and pars opercularis and decreased TH in the rostral anterior cingulate region. These findings could help clinicians understand the association between diseases related to neurological damage and psychiatric abnormalities in IBS patients, thereby enabling more effective prevention strategies.
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Ou H, Lai Z, Ye X, Wang X, Lin H. Irritable bowel syndrome and structural brain changes - A two-sample Mendelian randomization study of cortical thickness and surface area . 10983/2024


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Publication history

Received: 01/12/2024

Accepted: 01/03/2025

Online First: 11/03/2025

Published: 24/07/2025

Article revision time: 77 days

Article Online First time: 100 days

Article editing time: 235 days


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