背景：已有各种研究表明，白细胞端粒长度与肝脏疾病存在联系，但其因果关系尚未明确。本研究旨在调查外周血白细胞端粒长度与某些肝脏疾病之间的因果关系。方法：采用Mendelian randomization (MR) 分析，使用可公开访问的全球基因组关联研究 (GWAS) 数据库，考察白细胞端粒长度与肝病风险之间的关系。除主要分析方法的IVW方法外，还采用加权模式、加权中位数和逆方差加权 (IVW) 方法作为补充。结果：较长端粒长度的白细胞可能具有较低的肝硬化发病风险 [OR = 0.645 (0.524, 0.795), p = 3.977E-05]，并存在较高的良性肝肿瘤发病机会 [OR = 3.087 (1.721, 5.539), p = 1.567E-04]。端粒长度与脂肪肝、肝纤维化或肝癌之间无直接联系。复制分析结果与先前研究相符。结论：有关白细胞端粒长度与肝硬化和良性肝肿瘤之间可能的因果关联机制，还需要进一步研究。版权所有©2023 朱、杨、王和丁。

Background: Leukocyte telomere length and hepatic disorders have been linked in various research studies, although their causative association has not been clarified. This study investigated the causal relationship between the length of telomeres on peripheral blood leukocytes and certain liver disorders. Methods: Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used to examine the relationship between leukocyte telomere length and risk of liver disease using the publicly accessible worldwide gene-wide association study (GWAS) database. The weighted mode, weighted median, and inverse variance weighted (IVW) methods were employed as supplements to the IVW approach, which is the main analytical method. Results: Leukocytes with longer telomeres may have a lower risk of developing cirrhosis [OR = 0.645 (0.524, 0.795), p = 3.977E-05] and a higher chance of developing benign liver tumors [OR = 3.087 (1.721, 5.539), p = 1.567E-04]. There was no direct link between telomere length and fatty liver, hepatic fibrosis, or liver cancer. Our findings in the replication analysis agreed with those of the previous studies. Conclusion: Further research is needed to examine the mechanisms underlying the probable causal association between the length of leukocyte telomeres and cirrhosis and benign liver cancer.Copyright © 2023 Zhu, Yang, Wang and Ding.