Causal relationship between duration of mobile phone use and risk of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: A 2-sample Mendelian randomization analysis

This study investigates whether the duration of mobile phone use (DMPU) is causally associated with the risk of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). We pooled data from publicly available genome-wide association studies. DMPU was assessed in European populations (n = 456972), and genome-wide association studies data on patients with aSAH were obtained from the Common Metabolic Disease Knowledge Portal (total n = 337159; cases = 7480; controls = 329679). Inverse-variance weighted was applied as the primary Mendelian randomization (MR) method, and 2-sample MR analyses with sensitivity tests were performed. Twenty-three single nucleotide polymorphisms reaching genome-wide significance were selected as instrumental variables for DMPU. Inverse-variance weighted analysis suggested a causal relationship between excessive DMPU and increased risk of aSAH (odds ratio [OR] = 2.20; 95% confidence interval: 1.26-3.83; P = .006). MR-Egger regression indicated that directional pleiotropy was unlikely to bias the results (OR = 12.93; 95% confidence interval:1.15-145.31; P = .051). The weighted median method supported the causal relationship between excessive DMPU and increased risk of aSAH (OR = 2.48; 95% Cl: 1.17-5.24; P = .018). The Cochrane Q test and funnel plot showed no heterogeneity or asymmetry, confirming the robustness of the findings. This study provides evidence supporting a causal relationship between DMPU and aSAH. Excessive mobile phone use may increase the risk of aSAH, with important implications for clinical practice, public health, and policy.