• Yi Liu, Gang Tang, and Jinyu Li.
• Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Huaian No. 1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210000, Jiangsu, China.
• Eur Spine J. 2024 Feb 1; 33 (2): 525532525-532.

BackgroundDespite numerous observational studies, the causal relationship between obesity-measured by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC)-as well as type 2 diabetes (T2D), lifestyle habits, and susceptibility to low back pain (LBP) remains obscure.MethodsThis investigation employed two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to explore causality, using genetic variants linked to relevant factors from genome-wide association studies (GWASs). Specifically, we selected independent genetic variants related to BMI, WC, T2D, smoking, alcohol consumption, and coffee intake from established GWASs, all of which demonstrated genome-wide significance. The comparative data for LBP were derived from a GWAS involving European subjects, under the auspices of the renowned MRC-IEU (Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit) consortium.ResultsElevated BMI and WC were associated with odds ratios of 1.002 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.001-1.004, p < 0.001) and 1.003 (95% CI = 1.002-1.004, p < 0.001) for LBP per standard deviation (SD) increase, respectively. Regarding smoking initiation and coffee consumption, the odds ratios stood at 1.002 (95% CI = 1.001-1.004, p = 0.001) and 1.004 (95% CI = 1.001-1.008, p = 0.034) for LBP, respectively. However, an augmented log odds ratio for T2D and each SD rise in alcohol consumption frequency revealed no significant causal impact on LBP risk.ConclusionOur findings indicate a potential causal link between obesity, smoking, and coffee intake in the genesis of LBP, suggesting that mitigating these factors could contribute to LBP prevention.© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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