TY  - JOUR
AU  - Gu, Xicheng
AU  - Xue, Xiao'ao
AU  - Li, Yi
AU  - Chen, Ziyi
AU  - Wang, He
AU  - Hua, Yinghui
PY  - 2026
TI  - Higher BMI might increase risk of ankle–foot sprains: A mendelian randomization study
JO  - Sports Medicine and Health Science
SN  - 2097-6291
SP  - 302
EP  - 310
VL  - 8
IS  - 3
AB  - PurposeAlthough 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.MethodsExposure single-nucleotide polymorphisms were collected from Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT Consortium) for BMI, hip circumference (HIP), hip circumference adjusted for BMI (HIPadjBMI), waist circumference (WC), waist circumference adjusted for BMI (WCadjBMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI (WHRadjBMI), 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 (9141 cases and 290​508 healthy controls). Random-effect, inverse-variance weighted MR was used as the primary method.ResultsBMI (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 HIPadjBMI, WCadjBMI, WHR, and WHRadjBMI were found to have no such effect. Additionally, no reverse causal effect was found between ankle–foot sprains and BMI or BFP.ConclusionsA 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.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smhs.2025.01.001
DO  - 10.1016/j.smhs.2025.01.001