Associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study

Abstract Previous studies yielded conflicting results on the associations between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This MR study aims to elucidate the underlying causal association between vitiligo and the risk of CVD, as well as the potential...

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Main Authors: Xiaoyan Zhang, Lei Pu, Cheng Pu, Qian He
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95638-y
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author Xiaoyan Zhang
Lei Pu
Cheng Pu
Qian He
author_facet Xiaoyan Zhang
Lei Pu
Cheng Pu
Qian He
author_sort Xiaoyan Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Previous studies yielded conflicting results on the associations between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This MR study aims to elucidate the underlying causal association between vitiligo and the risk of CVD, as well as the potential mediator. Using summary statistics from genome-wide association study (GWAS), we conducted a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis and mediation analysis to investigate the causal association between vitiligo and 13 CVD outcomes and potential mediators. The IVW method was the main MR analysis method, supplemented by MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode methods. Multiple sensitivity analyses were applied to enhance the robustness of the results. Bioinformatics analysis involved Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO) and GeneMANIA functional analysis analysis. MR analysis indicated that genetically predicted vitiligo was significantly associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) (OR = 1.0199, 95% CI = 1.0024–1.0377, p = 0.026). There was no significant causal association between vitiligo and 12 other cardiovascular diseases. And reverse MR analysis found no causal effect of CVD on vitiligo. CCL11 was identified to partially mediate the association between vitiligo and CHD. GO and GeneMANIA suggested that CCL11 may mediate the association between vitiligo and CHD through chemokine-related functions and pathways. Our study revealed the potential causal association between vitiligo and CHD, with CCL11 as a potential mediator. Further studies are necessitated to elucidate the exact association and the mechanisms.
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spelling doaj-art-2fac24f7d3d648f18702d7ac973ae1cd2025-08-20T01:56:06ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-95638-yAssociations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization studyXiaoyan Zhang0Lei Pu1Cheng Pu2Qian He3The Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of the Ministry of Education, East China Normal UniversityThe Key Laboratory of Adolescent Health Assessment and Exercise Intervention of the Ministry of Education, East China Normal UniversitySchool of Martial Arts, Shanghai University of SportPreventive Medicine Department, Suzhou Wujiang District Second People’s HospitalAbstract Previous studies yielded conflicting results on the associations between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This MR study aims to elucidate the underlying causal association between vitiligo and the risk of CVD, as well as the potential mediator. Using summary statistics from genome-wide association study (GWAS), we conducted a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis and mediation analysis to investigate the causal association between vitiligo and 13 CVD outcomes and potential mediators. The IVW method was the main MR analysis method, supplemented by MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode methods. Multiple sensitivity analyses were applied to enhance the robustness of the results. Bioinformatics analysis involved Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) network, Gene Ontology (GO) and GeneMANIA functional analysis analysis. MR analysis indicated that genetically predicted vitiligo was significantly associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) (OR = 1.0199, 95% CI = 1.0024–1.0377, p = 0.026). There was no significant causal association between vitiligo and 12 other cardiovascular diseases. And reverse MR analysis found no causal effect of CVD on vitiligo. CCL11 was identified to partially mediate the association between vitiligo and CHD. GO and GeneMANIA suggested that CCL11 may mediate the association between vitiligo and CHD through chemokine-related functions and pathways. Our study revealed the potential causal association between vitiligo and CHD, with CCL11 as a potential mediator. Further studies are necessitated to elucidate the exact association and the mechanisms.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95638-yMendelian randomizationVitiligoCardiovascular diseasesInflammatory cytokinesCausal association
spellingShingle Xiaoyan Zhang
Lei Pu
Cheng Pu
Qian He
Associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study
Scientific Reports
Mendelian randomization
Vitiligo
Cardiovascular diseases
Inflammatory cytokines
Causal association
title Associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study
title_full Associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study
title_fullStr Associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study
title_full_unstemmed Associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study
title_short Associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases: a Mendelian randomization study
title_sort associations and mediators between vitiligo and cardiovascular diseases a mendelian randomization study
topic Mendelian randomization
Vitiligo
Cardiovascular diseases
Inflammatory cytokines
Causal association
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-95638-y
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