The Causal Effect Between Human Microbiota and Scabies: A Study from the Genetic Perspective

Abstract

Background Previous studies have indicated that human flora may affect the development of scabies, however, no studies have proven a causal relationship between human flora and scabies, which would be detrimental to future in-depth studies on human flora and scabies. Methods Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to analyze the causal effect between human microbiota and scabies, with data on intestinal flora and skin flora from two large published studies and data on scabies from the FinnGen database. Five MR analysis methods were used to increase the reliability of the results, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to increase the robustness of the results. Results Our results suggest that 13 intestinal flora as well as 7 skin flora can have a causal effect on scabies. Conclusion Overall, our results demonstrate a causal relationship between intestinal and skin flora and scabies and are consistent with previous observational findings. This will contribute to the future development of probiotic agents for the prevention or treatment of scabies.