{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,28]],"date-time":"2026-09-28T15:45:08Z","timestamp":1790610308012,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,20]],"date-time":"2024-06-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1718841600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Several observational studies suggested an association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and bronchiectasis. Nevertheless, the presence of a causal relationship between these conditions is yet to be determined. This study aimed to investigate whether genetically predicted RA is associated with the risk of bronchiectasis and vice versa.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We obtained RA genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from FinnGen consortium, and bronchiectasis GWAS data from IEU Open GWAS project. Univariate Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed using inverse variance weighted (IVW) estimation as the main method. Furthermore, bidirectional and replication MR analysis, multivariate MR (MVMR), Mediation analysis, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to validate the findings.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>In the UVMR analysis, the IVW results revealed that RA had an increased risk of bronchiectasis (OR\u2009=\u20091.18, 95% CI\u2009=\u20091.10\u20131.27; <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u2009=\u20092.34\u2009\u00d7\u200910<jats:sup>\u22126<\/jats:sup>). In the reverse MR analysis, no evidence of a causal effect of bronchiectasis on the risk of RA was detected. Conversely, in the replication MR analysis, RA remained associated with an increased risk of bronchiectasis. Estimates remained consistent in MVMR analyses after adjusting for the prescription of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and glucocorticoids. Immunosuppressants were found to mediate 58% of the effect of the RA on bronchiectasis. Sensitivity analyses confirmed the stability of these associations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study demonstrated a positive causal relationship between RA and an increased risk of bronchiectasis, offering insights for the early prevention of bronchiectasis in RA patients and shedding new light on the potential role of immunosuppressants as mediators in promoting the effects of RA on bronchiectasis.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2024.1403851","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,20]],"date-time":"2024-06-20T04:50:47Z","timestamp":1718859047000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["The causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and bronchiectasis: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"11","author":[{"given":"Yuanyuan","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weina","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dengfeng","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lili","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,6,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2023","DOI":"10.1016\/s0140-6736(16)30173-8","article-title":"Rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"388","author":"Smolen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1462","DOI":"10.1136\/annrheumdis-2013-204680","article-title":"The global burden of other musculoskeletal disorders: estimates from the global burden of disease 2010 study","volume":"73","author":"Smith","year":"2014","journal-title":"Ann Rheum Dis"},{"key":"ref3","first-page":"286","article-title":"Extra-articular manifestations in rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"5","author":"Cojocaru","year":"2010","journal-title":"Maedica"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"443","DOI":"10.1513\/pats.200703-045MS","article-title":"Rheumatoid lung disease","volume":"4","author":"Brown","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proc Am Thorac Soc"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"225","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rdc.2014.12.004","article-title":"Lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"41","author":"Yunt","year":"2015","journal-title":"Rheum Dis Clin N Am"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1378\/chest.11-1024","article-title":"Bronchiectasis in a diverse US population: effects of ethnicity on etiology and sputum culture","volume":"142","author":"McShane","year":"2012","journal-title":"Chest"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1177\/1479972317709649","article-title":"Prevalence and incidence of noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis among US adults in 2013","volume":"14","author":"Weycker","year":"2017","journal-title":"Chron Respir Dis"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1330","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chest.2024.01.001","article-title":"Impact of rheumatoid arthritis and seropositivity on the risk of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis","volume":"165","author":"Choi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Chest"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"689","DOI":"10.1093\/rheumatology\/36.6.689","article-title":"Decreased survival in patients with co-existent rheumatoid arthritis and bronchiectasis","volume":"36","author":"Swinson","year":"1997","journal-title":"Br J Rheumatol"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.2.4933.228","article-title":"Lung lesions in rheumatoid arthritis","volume":"2","author":"Aronoff","year":"1955","journal-title":"Br Med J"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1479973121994565","DOI":"10.1177\/1479973121994565","article-title":"A causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and bronchiectasis? 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