AUTHOR=Cao Si , Zeng Youjie , Zhang Xiaoyi , Tang Juan , Huang Jie , Lin Guoxin 

TITLE=Role of Metabolic Syndrome Traits on Infectious Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 70 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2025.1607945

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2025.1607945

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=ObjectivesTo explore the causal association of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components [systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting blood glucose (FG), waist circumference (WC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG)] with seven infectious diseases (COVID-19 infection, hospitalized COVID-19, very severe COVID-19, bacterial pneumonia, influenza, intestinal infection, and sepsis) using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.MethodsCausal estimates were primarily obtained using the inverse-variance weighted method, with multiple sensitivity analyses conducted to assess heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy.ResultsMetS was causally associated with higher risks of COVID-19 infection (OR = 1.09), hospitalized COVID-19 (OR = 1.27), very severe COVID-19 (OR = 1.40), and sepsis (OR = 1.50). Among MetS components, WC increased risks of COVID-19 infection (OR = 1.10), hospitalized COVID-19 (OR = 1.39), very severe COVID-19 (OR = 1.56), bacterial pneumonia (OR = 1.11), and sepsis (OR = 1.42), while HDL-C reduced risks of intestinal infection (OR = 0.96) and sepsis (OR = 0.92).ConclusionThis MR study supports a causal link between MetS traits and several infectious diseases, emphasizing the importance of metabolic management in reducing infection susceptibility.