Higher BMI might increase risk of ankle–foot sprains: A mendelian randomization study

IF 3.1 Q2 SPORT SCIENCES

Sports Medicine and Health Science Pub Date : 2026-05-01 Epub Date: 2025-01-21 DOI:10.1016/j.smhs.2025.01.001

Xicheng Gu , Xiao'ao Xue , Yi Li , Ziyi Chen , He Wang , Yinghui Hua

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

Although previous research has suggested that a greater body mass index (BMI) may be linked to a higher incidence of ankle–foot sprains, the causal relationship between BMI and these injuries has not been established. This study aims to determine the causal effect of BMI-related features on ankle–foot sprains using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

Methods

Exposure single-nucleotide polymorphisms were collected from Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT Consortium) for BMI, hip circumference (HIP), hip circumference adjusted for BMI (HIP_adjBMI), waist circumference (WC), waist circumference adjusted for BMI (WC_adjBMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHR_adjBMI), encompassing a study population of more than 200 000 individuals. Furthermore, exposure statistics were gathered from MEC-IEU for body fat percentage (BFP), involving a study population of 454 633 individuals. Additionally, outcome statistics for ankle sprains were identified from FinnGen based on hospital discharge records (9 141 cases and 290 508 healthy controls). Random-effect, inverse-variance weighted MR was used as the primary method.

Results

BMI (β = 0.173, p = 0.035), BFP (β = 0.341, p = 9.08 × 10⁻⁶), hip circumference (β = 0.265, p = 0.001), and WC (β = 0.193, p = 0.045) were found to have positive causal relationships with higher risk of ankle–foot sprains, whereas HIP_adjBMI, WC_adjBMI, WHR, and WHR_adjBMI were found to have no such effect. Additionally, no reverse causal effect was found between ankle–foot sprains and BMI or BFP.

Conclusions

A genetic predisposition to higher BMI-related features can lead to a higher risk of ankle–foot sprains, providing new insight into how to prevent ankle–foot sprains in middle-aged and elderly people.

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高BMI可能会增加踝足扭伤的风险：一项孟德尔随机研究

虽然先前的研究表明，较高的身体质量指数（BMI）可能与踝关节-足部扭伤的发生率较高有关，但BMI与这些损伤之间的因果关系尚未确定。本研究旨在通过双样本孟德尔随机化（MR）分析来确定bmi相关特征对踝足扭伤的因果影响。方法收集来自GIANT联盟的BMI、臀围（hip）、臀围（HIPadjBMI）、腰围（WC）、腰围（WCadjBMI）、腰臀比（WHR）和腰臀比（WHRadjBMI）的暴露单核苷酸多态性，共纳入20多万例研究人群。此外，从MEC-IEU中收集了体脂率（BFP）的暴露统计数据，涉及研究人群454 633人。此外，根据出院记录（9141例和290 508名健康对照），从FinnGen中确定踝关节扭伤的结局统计数据。随机效应、反方差加权MR作为主要方法。结果bmi （β = 0.173, p = 0.035）、BFP （β = 0.341, p = 9.08 × 10−6）、臀围（β = 0.265, p = 0.001）和腰围（β = 0.193, p = 0.045）与踝关节扭伤风险呈正相关，而HIPadjBMI、WCadjBMI、WHR和WHRadjBMI与踝关节扭伤风险无正相关。此外，踝关节-足部扭伤与BMI或BFP之间没有发现反向因果关系。结论较高bmi相关特征的遗传易感性可导致较高的踝关节扭伤风险，为中老年人如何预防踝关节扭伤提供了新的思路。

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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