Assessment of the causal influence of herpesvirus infections on the risk of depression phenotypes: A Mendelian randomization study

IF 3.5 2区医学 Q2 PSYCHIATRY

Journal of Psychosomatic Research Pub Date : 2025-06-26 DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2025.112194

Yi Li , Zhenqiu Liu , Hong Fan , Sijie Tao , Haili Wang , Xin Zhang , Sheng Wu , Yiyun Xu , Tianye Wang , Ying Yang , Tiejun Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

Previous findings of associations between herpesvirus infections and depression were mixed and did not implicate causality. This study used two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to clarify the causal impact of four symptomatic herpesvirus infections (shingles, chicken pox, cold sores, and mononucleosis) on three depression phenotypes, including depressive symptoms (DS), number of episodes with depressed mood (NEDM), and major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods

Eligible SNPs were selected as instrumental variables (IVs). MR estimates were primarily based on the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. Cochran's Q, MR-Egger intercept tests, and leave-one-out analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the results. False discovery rates (FDR) were calculated to correct the bias of multiple testing. Sensitivity analyses were performed by repeating the above process using IVs meeting a more relaxed threshold.

Results

Estimates of the main MR analyses suggested that shingles was associated with an increased risk of DS (IVW β = 0.040, FDR = 0.008) and NEDM (IVW β = 0.056, FDR = 0.003), which was supported by the sensitivity analyses. The effects of chicken pox on DS and NEDM were non-significant in the main analyses, whereas significant in the sensitivity analyses (for DS: IVW β = 0.063, FDR = 0.027; for NEDM: IVW β = 0.151, FDR = 0.039). None of the four herpesvirus infections was linked to MDD.

Conclusion

Our findings provide evidence that shingles is causally linked to specific depression phenotypes. Enhancing antiviral treatments and vaccination programs may promote the prevention of depression.

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评估疱疹病毒感染对抑郁表型风险的因果影响：一项孟德尔随机研究

目的以往发现的疱疹病毒感染与抑郁症之间的关系是混杂的，并不意味着因果关系。本研究采用双样本孟德尔随机化（MR）来阐明四种症状性疱疹病毒感染（带状疱疹、水痘、唇疱疹和单核细胞增多症）对三种抑郁表型的因果影响，包括抑郁症状（DS）、抑郁情绪发作次数（NEDM）和重度抑郁症（MDD）。方法选择符合条件的snp作为工具变量。MR估计主要基于逆方差加权（IVW）方法。采用Cochran’s Q、MR-Egger截距检验和留一分析来评估结果的稳健性。计算错误发现率（FDR）以纠正多重检验的偏差。通过使用满足更宽松阈值的IVs重复上述过程进行敏感性分析。结果对主要MR分析的估计表明带状疱疹与DS （IVW β = 0.040, FDR = 0.008）和NEDM （IVW β = 0.056, FDR = 0.003）的风险增加相关，这得到了敏感性分析的支持。在主要分析中，水痘对DS和NEDM的影响不显著，而在敏感性分析中，水痘对DS的影响显著(IVW β = 0.063, FDR = 0.027；NEDM: IVW β = 0.151, FDR = 0.039)。这四种疱疹病毒感染都与重度抑郁症无关。结论：我们的研究结果提供了带状疱疹与特定抑郁表型有因果关系的证据。加强抗病毒治疗和疫苗接种计划可能会促进抑郁症的预防。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Psychosomatic Research 医学-精神病学

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

6.40%

发文量

314

审稿时长

6.2 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of Psychosomatic Research is a multidisciplinary research journal covering all aspects of the relationships between psychology and medicine. The scope is broad and ranges from basic human biological and psychological research to evaluations of treatment and services. Papers will normally be concerned with illness or patients rather than studies of healthy populations. Studies concerning special populations, such as the elderly and children and adolescents, are welcome. In addition to peer-reviewed original papers, the journal publishes editorials, reviews, and other papers related to the journal''s aims.