Exploring the Diet-diverticular Disease Link: Insights from a Comprehensive Mendelian Randomization Study

Background: The interplay between dietary habits and the development of Diverticular Disease (DD) has long been a subject of vibrant debate. Objective: Utilizing Mendelian Randomization (MR), this study aims to meticulously examine the causal dynamics at play. Methods: The foundation for the Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) on DD was established using a dataset from the FinnGen consortium, encompassing 33,619 patients and 329,381 control participants. Data on 18 dietary habits and DD for the validation cohort were procured from the UK Biobank. An MR analysis was executed to delve into the causal relationship between dietary habits and DD, adhering to a rigorous Bonferroni correction threshold of 3.00E-03. Our main analysis method was the Inverse Variance Weighted (IVW) approach. To improve the accuracy and reliability of our study, we also conducted heterogeneity analysis, tests for horizontal pleiotropy, outlier identification, and “leave-one-out” sensitivity analysis. Results: Our analysis unearthed a potential causal association between the consumption of dried fruits and a lower risk of developing DD (IVW: odds ratio (OR) 0.372, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.272 - 0.509, p = 5.79E-10), a finding that was corroborated in the validation cohort (IVW: OR 0.975, 95% CI 0.961 - 0.990, p = 1.04E-03). Conversely, our results do not substantiate a causal link between the consumption of alcohol, dietary fiber, and red meat and the risk of DD. Conclusion: Our detailed MR analyses show that eating dried fruit lowers the risk of DD, providing strong support for prevention and treatment approaches for DD.