The causal relationship between anti-diabetic drugs and gastrointestinal disorders: a drug-targeted mendelian randomization study

Mingyan Ju; Tingting Deng; Xuemin Jia; Menglin Gong; Yuying Li; Fanjie Liu; Ying Yin

doi:10.1186/s13098-024-01359-z

The causal relationship between anti-diabetic drugs and gastrointestinal disorders: a drug-targeted mendelian randomization study

Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2024 Jun 26;16(1):141. doi: 10.1186/s13098-024-01359-z.

Authors

Mingyan Ju¹, Tingting Deng², Xuemin Jia³, Menglin Gong¹, Yuying Li¹, Fanjie Liu⁴, Ying Yin⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Acupuncture and moxibustion, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
² College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
³ Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China.
⁴ Bone Biomechanics Engineering Laboratory of Shandong Province, Shandong Medicinal Biotechnology Center (School of Biomedical Sciences), Neck-Shoulder and Lumbocrural Pain Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China. liufj198211@126.com.
⁵ Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China. 563298098@qq.com.

Abstract

Background: The incidence of diabetic gastrointestinal diseases is increasing year by year. This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between antidiabetic medications and gastrointestinal disorders, with the goal of reducing the incidence of diabetes-related gastrointestinal diseases and exploring the potential repurposing of antidiabetic drugs.

Methods: We employed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (TSMR) design to investigate the causal association between antidiabetic medications and gastrointestinal disorders, including gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastric ulcer (GU), chronic gastritis, acute gastritis, Helicobacter pylori infection, gastric cancer (GC), functional dyspepsia (FD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD), diverticulosis, and colorectal cancer (CRC). To identify potential inhibitors of antidiabetic drug targets, we collected single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with metformin, GLP-1 receptor agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors, DPP-4 inhibitors, insulin, and its analogs, thiazolidinediones, sulfonylureas, and alpha-glucosidase inhibitors from published genome-wide association study statistics. We then conducted a drug-target Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using inverse variance weighting (IVW) as the primary analytical method to assess the impact of these inhibitors on gastrointestinal disorders. Additionally, diabetes was selected as a positive control.

Results: Sulfonylureas were found to significantly reduce the risk of CD (IVW: OR [95% CI] = 0.986 [0.978, 0.995], p = 1.99 × 10^{- 3}), GERD (IVW: OR [95% CI] = 0.649 [0.452, 0.932], p = 1.90 × 10^{- 2}), and chronic gastritis (IVW: OR [95% CI] = 0.991 [0.982, 0.999], p = 4.50 × 10^{- 2}). However, they were associated with an increased risk of GU development (IVW: OR [95%CI] = 2 0.761 [1.259, 6.057], p = 1 0.12 × 10^{- 2}).

Conclusions: The results indicated that sulfonylureas had a positive effect on the prevention of CD, GERD, and chronic gastritis but a negative effect on the development of gastric ulcers. However, our research found no causal evidence for the impact of metformin, GLP-1 agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors, DPP 4 inhibitors, insulin and its analogs, thiazolidinediones, or alpha-glucosidase inhibitors on gastrointestinal diseases.

Keywords: Antidiabetic drugs; Diabetes; Drug targets; Gastrointestinal diseases; Mendelian randomization study.