Mood Swings Causally Related to Gynaecological Disorders

TOPLINE:
A new study using the most rigorous epidemiological method of establishing causation known as Mendelian randomisation [MR] has found that mood swings are causal risk factors for endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, and endometriosis, but not for ovarian cancer.
METHODOLOGY:
This study, the first of its kind, consisted of a two-sample MR analysis using mood swings in the UK Biobank female population as the exposure (n = 204,412 cases of mood swings and 247,207 controls) and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as instrumental variables.
Mood swings were defined as rapid and intense fluctuations in emotional states.
The SNPs were obtained from UK Biobank, genome-wide association studies, and the FinnGen consortium.
The outcomes under study were endometrial, cervical, ovarian cancer, and endometriosis.
TAKEAWAY:
Mood swings were found to be causally associated with endometrial cancer (OR, 2.60; 95% CI, 1.36-4.95), cervical cancer (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.02), and endometriosis (OR, 2.58; 95% CI, 1.18-5.60).
Mood swings were not found to be causal risk factors for ovarian cancer (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 0.81-2.62).
IN PRACTICE:
The authors concluded that “The findings of this MR study contribute to our understanding of the complex interplay between mood swing and gynaecological disorders. The observed causal relationships underscore the importance of addressing psychological factors and mental health in the prevention and management of endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, and endometriosis.”
SOURCE:
The lead and corresponding author is Jia Bian of The Affiliated People’s Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China. The study appeared in the International Journal of Womens Health.
LIMITATIONS:
Limitations included sole focus on European women, thereby limiting generalisability to other ethnic populations or geographic regions.
DISCLOSURES:
None of the authors reported competing interests. The study was funded by the Zhejiang Provincial Medical and Health Technology Plan Project.
 
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