Peng Shaoyi, Yang Yang, Man Yilong, Long Dianfei, Wang Lei, Li Kaiyuan, Liu Peng
Department of Cardiology, Jiande First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining, China.
Skin Res Technol. 2024 Aug;30(8):e13874. doi: 10.1111/srt.13874.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune hair loss disorder with an incompletely understood etiology. Although trace elements, serum metabolites, and inflammatory factors are implicated in the disease, the potential causal relationships between these factors and alopecia areata require further investigation.
This study employed Mendelian randomization (MR), utilizing data from genome-wide association studies, to explore the causal relationships between 15 trace elements, 1400 serum metabolites, and 91 inflammatory factors and alopecia areata. The analysis was conducted using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method complemented by various sensitivity analyses, including Cochran's Q test, MR-Egger regression intercept test, MR-PRESSO global test, and leave-one-out analysis, to assess the robustness of the results.
MR analysis indicated a negative correlation between copper levels and the risk of developing alopecia areata (odds ratio = 0.86, 95% confidence interval: 0.75-0.99, p = 0.041). Additionally, causal relationships were identified between 15 serum metabolites and 6 inflammatory factors and the risk of alopecia areata (IVW, all p values < 0.05).
This study provides genetic evidence of the relationships between trace elements, serum metabolites, and alopecia areata, underscoring the potential value of targeted therapeutic strategies and preventive measures. Future research should expand to diverse populations and further explore the specific roles of these biomarkers in the disease mechanism.
斑秃是一种病因尚未完全明确的自身免疫性脱发疾病。尽管微量元素、血清代谢物和炎症因子与该疾病有关，但这些因素与斑秃之间潜在的因果关系仍需进一步研究。
本研究采用孟德尔随机化（MR）方法，利用全基因组关联研究的数据，探讨15种微量元素、1400种血清代谢物和91种炎症因子与斑秃之间的因果关系。分析采用逆方差加权（IVW）方法，并辅以各种敏感性分析，包括 Cochr an's Q检验、MR-Egger回归截距检验、MR-PRESSO全局检验和留一法分析，以评估结果的稳健性。
MR分析表明铜水平与患斑秃的风险呈负相关（优势比=0.86，95%置信区间：0.75-0.99，p=0.041）。此外，还确定了15种血清代谢物和6种炎症因子与斑秃风险之间的因果关系（IVW，所有p值<0.05）。
本研究提供了微量元素、血清代谢物与斑秃之间关系的遗传证据，强调了靶向治疗策略和预防措施的潜在价值。未来的研究应扩展到不同人群，并进一步探索这些生物标志物在疾病机制中的具体作用。
