Mendelian Randomization Study of the Causal Relationships between Food and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

Abstract Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common digestive disorder that affects the quality of life of millions of people. Although many lifestyle factors, such as diet, are thought to be associated with GERD, the causal relationships are unclear. Mendelian randomization (MR) is a method that uses genetic variation to infer causality. We aimed to evaluate the causal relationships between food and GERD using MR. Method We included 17 food variables, including Alcohol intake frequency, Beef, Bread, Cereal, Cheese, Coffee, Cooked vegetable, Dried fruit, Fresh fruit, Lamb/mutton, Non-oily fish, Oily fish, Pork, Poultry, Processed meat, Salad / raw vegetable, and Tea in our analysis. We performed sensitivity tests, heterogeneity tests, and pleiotropic tests to ensure the validity of our results. Result Our results showed that Alcohol intake frequency, Bread, Cereal, Cheese, Dried fruit, Poultry and GERD were causally related through two-sample MR and multi-variate MR analysis. Conclusion These findings suggest that modifying certain dietary factors may help reduce the risk of GERD.