A causal association between gastroesophageal reflux disease and risk of heavy menstrual bleeding with regular cycle: A Mendelian randomization study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Clinical observations and retrospective studies have found that GERD is associated with hormone levels and digestive symptoms during menstruation. However, whether there is a genetic causal relationship between GERD and HMB with regular menstrual cycleshas not been reported. Methods: In this study, we extracted instrumental variables from the dataset of GERD and HMB with regular menstrual cycles from the GWAS database, and then we used the R package "TwoSampleMR" and Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to conduct causal inference analysis of GERD and HMB with regular menstrual cycles. Results: We observed a possible causal relationship between GERD and HMB with regular menstrual cycles. GERD was positively correlated with menorrhagia. Conclusion: Our results may provide evidence for a genetic causal effect of GERD on the etiological mechanism of HMB with regular menstrual cycles. For patients diagnosed with GERD, attention should be paid to monitoring the blood volume during menstruation.