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Mood swings, depression, feelings of tension, and misery are prominent risk markers for hiatal hernia.
According to the findings of a recent study led by Chaofan Pan et al., psychological factors—such as mood swings, depression, feelings of tension, and misery—may play a causal role in the development of hiatal hernia (HH).
HH is a common gastrointestinal condition in which part of the stomach moves upward into the thoracic cavity through the diaphragm. Often linked to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), it can manifest with symptoms like persistent cough and respiratory complications. While common, the connection between psychological factors and HH remains inadequately explored.
Hence, this study sought to unravel the causal links through Mendelian randomization (MR), a powerful strategy that leverages genetic variants as instrumental variables. The study analyzed data from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using a bidirectional, two-sample MR approach. The key analytical method employed was inverse variance weighting (IVW). Additional sensitivity analyses (MR-Egger and weighted median methods) was used to ensure robustness.
Considering HH as the exposure and emotional states as outcomes, a reverse MR analysis was performed. The results revealed significant associations between psychological distress and HH risk:
These findings suggest that individuals with higher genetic susceptibility to mood instability and depressive symptoms have an increased risk of developing HH. Importantly, reverse MR analysis, which tested whether HH could trigger these emotional states, found no evidence supporting a causal relationship in the opposite direction. This study highlights the critical role of mental health in gastrointestinal disorders and suggests that psychological factors should be considered in HH prevention and treatment strategies.
Medicine
Causal relationships between depression, emotional changes, and hiatal hernia: A Mendelian randomization analysis
Chaofan Pan et al.
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