Evidence of a causal relationship between body mass index and psoriasis: A mendelian randomization study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease that has been reported to be associated with obesity. We aimed to investigate a possible causal relationship between body mass index (BMI) and psoriasis.

Methods and findings

Following a review of published epidemiological evidence of the association between obesity and psoriasis, mendelian randomization (MR) was used to test for a causal relationship with BMI. We used a genetic instrument comprising 97 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMI as a proxy for BMI (expected to be much less confounded than measured BMI). One-sample MR was conducted using individual-level data (396,495 individuals) from the UK Biobank and the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway. Two-sample MR was performed with s

SUBMITTER: Budu-Aggrey A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6354959 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature