Causal association of obesity-related anthropometric traits with myopia and the mediating role of educational attainment: a Mendelian randomization study

To study the causal relationship between obesity-related anthropometric traits and myopia and the mediating role of educational attainment (EA).

Univariable Mendelian randomization (UVMR) was performed to evaluate the causal association between body mass index (BMI), height, waist-hip ratio (WHR, adjusted for BMI), and mean spherical equivalent (MSE). BMI was divided into fat and fat-free mass and included in multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) to explore the roles of different BMI components in the causal relationship between BMI and MSE. A mediation analysis based on two-step Mendelian randomization (MR) was carried out. Specifically, UVMR was conducted to estimate the causal effect of BMI on EA. The direct effect of EA on MSE was estimated from MVMR. The mediation effect of EA in the BMI-EA-MSE model was calculated by the product of coefficients method. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL)-MR, reverse MR, and Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression (LDSC) were performed to assess the robustness.

Genetically predicted higher BMI had a positive total effect on MSE (βIVW=0.26 D, 95%CI=0.14 to 0.37 D, P<0.001), whereas there was no significant association between height, WHR, and MSE. Fat mass was found to play a significant role in the effect of body mass on MSE (βIVW=0.50 D, 95%CI=0.21 to 0.78 D, P=0.001), but there was no significant association between fat-free mass and MSE. The causal effect of BMI on EA was -0.14 (95%CI=-0.16 to -0.11, P<0.001), and the direct effect of EA on MSE was -0.63 D (95%CI=-0.81 to -0.44 D, P<0.001). The mediating effect of EA in the BMI-EA-MSE model was 0.09 D (95%CI=0.06 to 0.12 D), with a mediation proportion of 33% (95%CI=22.1% to 44.6%). No reverse causal associations were detected except for BMI on EA. The results of eQTL-MR and LDSC were consistent with each MR analysis.

Genetically predicted higher BMI decreases the degree of myopia with a 33% mediation proportion by EA, and fat mass provides a dominant protective role in body mass-myopia. As a supplement to previous observational studies, it provides strong evidence for the relationship between anthropometric traits and refractive errors and offers a theoretical basis for future measures to prevent and control myopia.