Causal Relationship Between Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases and Iridocyclitis: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

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PURPOSE: This study aims to explore the relationship between autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) and the risk of iridocyclitis (IC) using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. METHODS: Data of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), Behcet's disease (BD), and iridocyclitis were obtained from genome-wide association studies with large sample sizes. The instrumental variable utilized in this study for each exposure was the single nucleotide polymorphism. The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, which included random effects, was used to analyze causal effects. In addition, sensitivity analyses were conducted using the weighted median and MR-Egger methods. The presence of pleiotropic effects was identified and addressed through MR pleiotropic effects residual and outlier tests, as well as MR-Egger modeling. Besides, sensitivity analysis showed no evidence of pleiotropy and heterogeneity. However, no causal relationship between SLE, JIA, BD, and IC was detected. CONCLUSION: Bilateral causal relationships of IC and AS were identified, which could offer evidence for clinical use and lay the groundwork for detecting potential mechanism behind them.