Associations Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Allergic Diseases: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

Abstract

Abstract Objectives:The objective of this study was to assess the causal relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and allergic conditions including allergic asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and atopic dermatitis. Design:We conducted a Mendelian randomization analysis to assess a potential causal relationship between OSA and allergic disease. Setting and participants:All candidate gene data were from the IEU GWAS database, where OSA candidate genes included 16,761 cases and 201,194 controls, and the allergic disease dataset included allergic asthma (4,859 and 135,449 controls), allergic rhinitis (7,308 and 167,849 controls), allergic conjunctivitis (9,431 and 203,517 controls), and atopic dermatitis (7,024 and 198,740 controls). Results:MR analysis using the IVW approach demonstrated that OSA was associated with a slight increase in the risk of allergic asthma (odds ratio [OR]=1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.33; p = 0.019). Furthermore, compelling evidence emerged, indicating that OSA is associated with an elevated risk of other allergic conditions, such as allergic rhinitis (OR=1.16; 95% CI: 1.04–1.29; p = 0.006), allergic conjunctivitis (OR = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.05–1.27; p = 0.002), and atopic dermatitis (OR=1.16; 95% CI: 1.03–1.30; p=0.002). These results collectively contribute to a better understanding of the potential causal relationships between OSA and various allergic diseases. Conclusion: The findings of the two-sample MR analysis indicated that OSA exhibited a potential increased risk of allergic diseases.