Guo Liangliang, Yin Shengnan, Wei Hongkui, Peng Jian
Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.
The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan, China.
Front Nutr. 2024 Jul 22;11:1390618. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1390618. eCollection 2024.
Observational studies have explored the impact of iron homeostasis on infertility; however, establishing definitive causal relationships remains challenging. This study utilized a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach to investigate the potential causal relationship between iron status and infertility.
Four indicators of iron status-serum iron, ferritin, transferrin saturation, and total iron binding capacity, were considered as exposure factors. Infertility was the outcome variable for both men and women. Robust causality was assessed using the primary inverse-variance-weighted method, complemented by three supplementary Mendelian randomization approaches. Sensitivity analyses were performed to enhance the precision and reliability of the results.
No statistically significant associations were identified between the four indicators of iron status and infertility. These results remained consistent across multiple Mendelian randomization methodologies.
In conclusion, there is no evidence of a genetic causal relationship between iron status and infertility. Nevertheless, this does not preclude the possibility of a connection between iron status and infertility at different mechanistic levels.
观察性研究已探讨铁稳态对不孕症的影响；然而，确定明确的因果关系仍然具有挑战性。本研究采用两样本孟德尔随机化方法来研究铁状态与不孕症之间的潜在因果关系。
铁状态的四个指标——血清铁、铁蛋白、转铁蛋白饱和度和总铁结合力，被视为暴露因素。不孕症是男性和女性的结局变量。使用主要的逆方差加权方法评估稳健的因果关系，并辅以三种补充孟德尔随机化方法。进行敏感性分析以提高结果的准确性和可靠性。
在铁状态的四个指标与不孕症之间未发现统计学上的显著关联。这些结果在多种孟德尔随机化方法中保持一致。
总之，没有证据表明铁状态与不孕症之间存在遗传因果关系。然而，这并不排除在不同机制水平上铁状态与不孕症之间存在联系的可能性。
