Causal relationship between intracranial aneurysms and COVID-19: A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Abstract

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to assess the association of any (ruptured or unruptured) intracranial aneurysms (IAs) and aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) with the risk of COVID-19 (susceptibility, hospitalisation rate and very severe respiratory disease) . Method: We collected the genome-wide association statistics of IAs (sample size, n=79,429) and COVID-19 (n=1,683,768). We conducted bi-directional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses, of which the inverse-variance-weighted(IVW) method was the primary method to estimate the causal effects between COVID-19 and IAs. Results: Genetically predicted aSAH was associated with the risk of COVID-19 very severe respiratory disease (OR(95%CI): 0.84(0.73-0.97), P=0.015), and COVID-19 very severe respiratory disease was positively associated with risk of IAs (OR(95%CI):1.18(1.02-1.36), P=0.025). Conclusion: This Mendelian randomization study suggests that COVID-19 very severe respiratory disease may promote the development of IAs, while aSAH may have a potential preventive effect on COVID-19 very severe respiratory disease.