Causal Relationship Between Psoriasis and Bullous Pemphigoid: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Causal Relationship Between Psoriasis and Bullous Pemphigoid: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Authors

  • Xiaoxue Wang Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
  • Zexin Zhu Department of Surgical Oncology, The Comprehensive Breast Care Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China

Keywords:

psoriasis, Bullous pemphigoid, Mendelian randomization, Causal relationship

Abstract

Introduction: Psoriasis and bullous pemphigoid (BP) are the 2 major types of immune-mediated inflammatory skin diseases. Studies have reported the association between psoriasis and BP; however, no studies reported whether a causal relationship exists between these 2 skin diseases.

Objectives: In order to explore the causal relationship between psoriasis and BP, we performed a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study.

Methods: Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data related to psoriasis and BP were collected. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was primarily applied for our MR analysis, MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode, and weighted mode methods were used additionally. Heterogeneity, horizontal pleiotropy, and potential outliers were assessed for the MR analysis results.

Results: GWAS data for psoriasis (3 cohorts) and BP (1 cohort) from publicly available trials were selected. Our MR results showed that psoriasis was causally associated with BP, psoriasis could increase the risk of BP, reversed MR showed BP has no causal effect on psoriasis. No heterogeneity or pleiotropy was detected. 

Conclusion: These findings provided new evidence of the causal relationship between psoriasis and BP, our MR suggested that psoriasis is potentially causal to BP, which help us improving the treatment strategy for patients with psoriasis. The mechanism remains open for further investigation.

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Published

2025-01-29

How to Cite

1.
Wang X, Zhu Z. Causal Relationship Between Psoriasis and Bullous Pemphigoid: A Mendelian Randomization Analysis. Dermatol Pract Concept. 2025;15(1):4458 . doi:10.5826/dpc.1501a4458

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