Exploring the Two-Way Link between Migraines and Venous Thromboembolism: A Bidirectional Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

Background The objective of this study is to utilize Mendelian randomization toscrutinize the mutual causality between migraine and venous thromboembolism (VTE)thereby addressing the heterogeneity and inconsistency that were observed in priorobservational studies concerning the potential interrelation of the two conditions. Methods Employing a bidirectional Mendelian randomization approach, the studyexplored the link between migraine and VTE, incorporating participants of Europeandescent from a large-scale meta-analysis. An inverse-variance weighted (IVW) regres-sion model, with random-effects, leveraging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)as instrumental variables was utilizedto endorse the mutual causality betweenmigraine and VTE. SNP heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran'sQ-testandtoaccount for multiple testing, correction was implemented using the intercept of theMR-Egger method, and a leave-one-out analysis. Results The IVW model unveiled a statistically considerable causal link betweenmigraine and the development of VTE (odds ratio [OR]1/4 96.155, 95% confidenceinterval [CI]: 4.342-2129.458,p 1/40.004), implying that migraine poses a strong riskfactor for VTE development. Conversely, both IVW and simple model outcomesindicated that VTE poses as a weaker risk factor for migraine (IVW OR 1/41.002, 95%CI: 1.000-1.004,p 1/40.016). The MR-Egger regression analysis denoted absence ofevidence for genetic pleiotropy among the SNPs while the durability of our Mendelianrandomization results was vouched by the leave-one-out sensitivity analysis. Conclusion Thefindings of this Mendelian randomization assessment provide sub-stantiation for a reciprocal causative association between migraine and VTE within theEuropean population.