To investigate the relationship between variations in cardiac structure, specifically ventricular traits, and the risk of schizophrenia (SCZ) using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging-derived traits and polygenic risk scores.
Approach:
Key Findings:
Four ventricular traits showed significant associations with SCZ genetics, indicating a potential link between cardiac structure and SCZ risk.
End-systolic volume (ESV) of the right ventricle (RV) exhibited the strongest negative association with SCZ risk, suggesting its critical role in understanding SCZ.
Forward MR indicated a potential causal association between higher genetically predicted ESV of RV and lower SCZ risk, emphasizing the importance of this trait.
No strong indication of pleiotropy was observed, reinforcing the specificity of the findings.
All other traits in forward MR and all traits in reverse MR analyses showed no statistically significant evidence of causal association, underscoring the unique relevance of ESV of RV.
Interpretation:
Higher genetically predicted ESV of RV appears linked to reduced SCZ risk, suggesting a genetic relevance of this ventricular characteristic to SCZ and its potential as a target for further research.
Limitations:
The study primarily focused on genetic associations and may not account for all environmental factors influencing SCZ, which could limit the generalizability of the findings.
Reverse MR results were not statistically significant after multiple-testing correction, indicating the need for caution in interpreting these findings.
Conclusion:
The findings provide new insights into SCZ pathophysiology and highlight ESV of RV as a potential factor in SCZ risk assessment, suggesting avenues for future research and clinical applications.
