The causal relationship between Emotions and Osteoarthritis: A Bidirectional Mendelian Randomization study

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis is a global joint disease and its prevalence is still rising. At the same time, emotion disorder is also a huge problem in the whole world, previous studies suggested the relationship between emotion disorder and osteoarthritis. However, the causality effect is still unknown. Method A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study was designed to estimate the causality effect of emotion on osteoarthritis. The instrument single nucleotide polymorphisms were screened from open Genome-Wide Association Study summary (GWASs) datasets. The Inverse-Variance Weighted was deemed as the main effect, and the MR_Egger, Weighted Medium, Weighted mode, and Simple Mode were performed to complement the results. Results The emotions of depression, anxiousness, and feeling hurt were genetic effects of the development of osteoarthritis. Among them, the anxiousness was relegated to the risk of osteoarthritis (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.49, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.26–0.91). The emotion of depression (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.61–2.90) and hurt (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.09–2.75) promoted the risk of osteoarthritis at the genetic level. Conclusion The emotion was genetic effect the risk of osteoarthritis, especially depression and feeling hurt.