Dissecting causal associations of type 2 diabetes with 111 types of ocular conditions: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND

Despite the well-established findings of a higher incidence of retina-related eye diseases in patients with diabetes, there is less investigation into the causal relationship between diabetes and non-retinal eye conditions, such as age-related cataracts and glaucoma.

METHODS

We performed Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to examine the causal relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 111 ocular diseases. We employed a set of 184 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that reached genome-wide significance as instrumental variables (IVs). The primary analysis utilized the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method, with MR-Egger and weighted median (WM) methods serving as supplementary analyses.

RESULTS

The results revealed suggestive positive causal relationships between T2DM and various ocular conditions, including "Senile cataract" (OR= 1.07; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.11; P=7.77×10-4), "Glaucoma" (OR= 1.08; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.13; P=4.81×10-3), and "Disorders of optic nerve and visual pathways" (OR= 1.10; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.23; P=7.01×10-2).

CONCLUSION

Our evidence supports a causal relationship between T2DM and specific ocular disorders. This provides a basis for further research on the importance of T2DM management and prevention strategies in maintaining ocular health.