Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found an association between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and various malignant neoplasms, including bone tumors. BMR is also associated with bone mineral density, but the causality between BMR and benign neoplasms of bone and articular cartilage remains uncertain. DESIGN: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMR (p < 5 × 10(-8)) were used as instrumental variables for Mendelian randomization analysis of neoplasm risk. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was the primary approach, with the weighted median and MR-Egger regression serving as supplements. RESULTS: In this MR analysis, the IVW method supported a causal relationship between BMR and benign neoplasms of bone and articular cartilage (OR = 1.417; 95% CI, 1.039 to 1.930; p = 0.027). No evidence of heterogeneity or pleiotropy in the selected SNPs was found in our study. Thus, based on these results, we discovered a possible causal relationship between BMR and benign neoplasms of bone and articular cartilage. CONCLUSIONS: In this MR study, evidence suggested a genetic correlation between genetically predicted BMR and the risk of neoplasms in bone and articular cartilage.