Are Retropharyngeal Parathyroid Adenomas Associated with Retropharyngeal Carotid Arteries?

Abstract

<h3>Abstract</h3> <h3>Background</h3> Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe and complex psychiatric disorder with the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders. Previous observational studies have comprehensively indicated an association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and AN, but the causal effect remains unclear. We aimed to test the hypothesis that a causal relationship exists between IBD and the risk of AN. <h3>Methods</h3> Based on published open genome-wide association study summary statistics, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of IBD, including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD), were selected as genetic instrumental variables. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were conducted to infer the causal relationship between IBD and AN. The methods included inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, weighted median estimator, weighted mode and MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MR-PERSSO). Furthermore, various sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of our results. <h3>Results</h3> The primary analysis IVW suggested that genetically predicted IBD were positively casually associated with AN risk (N_SNP = 12, odds ratio [OR]: 1.143, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.032-1.266, <i>P</i> = 0.01). In subgroups, consistent positive causal associations with AN risk might show in UC (N_SNP = 6, OR: 1.153, 95% CI: 1.022-1.301, <i>P</i> = 0.021), and CD (N_SNP = 4, OR: 1.153, 95% CI: 1.008-1.319, <i>P</i> = 0.037). NO heterogeneity and pleiotropy were presented through sensitivity analysis and guaranteed credible and robust estimates. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Our study identifies that patients diagnosed with IBD, including UC and CD, could be causally associated with an increased risk of AN. It may have clinical benefits for early detection of AN and clinical decisions on management of IBD patients.