scholarly journals Evaluation of glycemic traits in susceptibility to COVID-19 risk: a Mendelian randomization study

BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiu Lun Au Yeung ◽  
Jie V Zhao ◽  
C Mary Schooling

Abstract Background Observational studies suggest poorer glycemic traits and type 2 diabetes associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) risk although these findings could be confounded by socioeconomic position. We conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization to clarify their role in COVID-19 risk and specific COVID-19 phenotypes (hospitalized and severe cases). Method We identified genetic instruments for fasting glucose (n = 133,010), 2 h glucose (n = 42,854), glycated hemoglobin (n = 123,665), and type 2 diabetes (74,124 cases and 824,006 controls) from genome wide association studies and applied them to COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative summary statistics (17,965 COVID-19 cases and 1,370,547 population controls). We used inverse variance weighting to obtain the causal estimates of glycemic traits and genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes in COVID-19 risk. Sensitivity analyses included MR-Egger and weighted median method. Results We found genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes was not associated with any COVID-19 phenotype (OR: 1.00 per unit increase in log odds of having diabetes, 95%CI 0.97 to 1.04 for overall COVID-19; OR: 1.02, 95%CI 0.95 to 1.09 for hospitalized COVID-19; and OR: 1.00, 95%CI 0.93 to 1.08 for severe COVID-19). There were no strong evidence for an association of glycemic traits in COVID-19 phenotypes, apart from a potential inverse association for fasting glucose albeit with wide confidence interval. Conclusion We provide some genetic evidence that poorer glycemic traits and predisposition to type 2 diabetes unlikely increase the risk of COVID-19. Although our study did not indicate glycemic traits increase severity of COVID-19, additional studies are needed to verify our findings.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ify R Mordi ◽  
R Thomas Lumbers ◽  
Colin NA Palmer ◽  
Ewan R Pearson ◽  
Naveed Sattar ◽  
...  

<b>Objective</b> <p>The aim of this study was to use Mendelian randomization (MR) techniques to estimate the causal relationships between genetic liability to type 2 diabetes, glycaemic traits and risk of HF.</p> <p><b>Research Design and Methods</b></p> <p>Summary-level data were obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance (IR), glycated haemoglobin, fasting insulin and glucose and HF. MR was conducted using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. Sensitivity analyses included MR-Egger, weighted median and mode methods, and multivariable MR conditioning on potential mediators.</p> <p><b>Results</b></p> <p>Genetic liability to type 2 diabetes was causally related to higher risk of HF (OR: 1.13 per 1 log-unit higher risk of type 2 diabetes; 95% CI 1.11-1.14, p<0.001), however sensitivity analysis revealed evidence of directional pleiotropy. The relationship between type 2 diabetes and HF was attenuated when adjusted for coronary disease, body mass index, LDL-cholesterol and blood pressure. Genetically-instrumented higher IR was associated with higher risk of HF (OR 1.19 per 1 log-unit higher risk of IR; 95% CI 1.00-1.41, p=0.041). There were no notable associations identified between fasting insulin, glucose or glycated haemoglobin and risk of HF. Genetic liability to HF was causally linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.01-2.19, p=0.042) though again with evidence of pleiotropy.</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b></p> These findings suggest a causal role of type 2 diabetes and IR in HF aetiology, though both the presence of bidirectional effects and directional pleiotropy highlight potential sources of bias that need to be considered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Cui ◽  
Hui Feng ◽  
Baichuan He ◽  
Yong Xing ◽  
Zhaorui Liu ◽  
...  

BackgroundIt remains unclear whether an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects the risk of osteoarthritis (OA).MethodsHere, we used two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to obtain non-confounded estimates of the effect of T2D and glycemic traits on hip and knee OA. We identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly associated with T2D, fasting glucose (FG), and 2-h postprandial glucose (2hGlu) from genome-wide association studies (GWAS). We used the MR inverse variance weighted (IVW), the MR–Egger method, the weighted median (WM), and the Robust Adjusted Profile Score (MR.RAPS) to reveal the associations of T2D, FG, and 2hGlu with hip and knee OA risks. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted to verify whether heterogeneity and pleiotropy can bias the MR results.ResultsWe did not find statistically significant causal effects of genetically increased T2D risk, FG, and 2hGlu on hip and knee OA (e.g., T2D and hip OA, MR–Egger OR = 1.1708, 95% CI 0.9469–1.4476, p = 0.1547). It was confirmed that horizontal pleiotropy was unlikely to bias the causality (e.g., T2D and hip OA, MR–Egger, intercept = −0.0105, p = 0.1367). No evidence of heterogeneity was found between the genetic variants (e.g., T2D and hip OA, MR–Egger Q = 30.1362, I2 &lt; 0.0001, p = 0.6104).ConclusionOur MR study did not support causal effects of a genetically increased T2D risk, FG, and 2hGlu on hip and knee OA risk.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ify R Mordi ◽  
R Thomas Lumbers ◽  
Colin NA Palmer ◽  
Ewan R Pearson ◽  
Naveed Sattar ◽  
...  

<b>Objective</b> <p>The aim of this study was to use Mendelian randomization (MR) techniques to estimate the causal relationships between genetic liability to type 2 diabetes, glycaemic traits and risk of HF.</p> <p><b>Research Design and Methods</b></p> <p>Summary-level data were obtained from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance (IR), glycated haemoglobin, fasting insulin and glucose and HF. MR was conducted using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. Sensitivity analyses included MR-Egger, weighted median and mode methods, and multivariable MR conditioning on potential mediators.</p> <p><b>Results</b></p> <p>Genetic liability to type 2 diabetes was causally related to higher risk of HF (OR: 1.13 per 1 log-unit higher risk of type 2 diabetes; 95% CI 1.11-1.14, p<0.001), however sensitivity analysis revealed evidence of directional pleiotropy. The relationship between type 2 diabetes and HF was attenuated when adjusted for coronary disease, body mass index, LDL-cholesterol and blood pressure. Genetically-instrumented higher IR was associated with higher risk of HF (OR 1.19 per 1 log-unit higher risk of IR; 95% CI 1.00-1.41, p=0.041). There were no notable associations identified between fasting insulin, glucose or glycated haemoglobin and risk of HF. Genetic liability to HF was causally linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.01-2.19, p=0.042) though again with evidence of pleiotropy.</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b></p> These findings suggest a causal role of type 2 diabetes and IR in HF aetiology, though both the presence of bidirectional effects and directional pleiotropy highlight potential sources of bias that need to be considered.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Cui ◽  
Hui Feng ◽  
Baichuan He ◽  
Yong Xing ◽  
Zhaorui Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: It remains unclear whether an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects the risk of osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: Here, we used two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to obtain non-confounded estimates of the effect of T2D and glycemic traits on hip and knee OA. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly associated with T2D, fasting glucose (FG) and 2-hour postprandial glucose (2hGlu) from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) . We used MR inverse variance weighted (IVW), the MR-Egger method, the weighted median (WM) and Robust Adjusted Profile Score (MR.RAPS) to reveal the associations of T2D, FG and 2hGlu with hip and knee OA risk. Sensitivity analyses were also conducted to verify whether heterogeneity and pleiotropy can bias the MR results.Results: We did not find statistically significant causal effects of genetically increased T2D risk, FG and 2hGlu on hip and knee OA (e.g., T2D and hip OA, MR-Egger OR=0.9536, 95% CI 0.5585 to 1.6283, p=0.8629). It was confirmed that horizontal pleiotropy was unlikely to bias the causality (e.g., T2D and hip OA, MR-Egger, intercept=-0.0032, p=0.8518). No evidence of heterogeneity was found between the genetic variants (e.g., T2D and hip OA, MR-Egger Q=40.5481, I2=0.1368, p=0.2389). Conclusions: Our MR study did not support causal effects of a genetically increased T2D risk, FG and 2hGlu on hip and knee OA risk.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3890
Author(s):  
Susanne Jäger ◽  
Rafael Cuadrat ◽  
Clemens Wittenbecher ◽  
Anna Floegel ◽  
Per Hoffmann ◽  
...  

Circulating levels of branched-chain amino acids, glycine, or aromatic amino acids have been associated with risk of type 2 diabetes. However, whether those associations reflect causal relationships or are rather driven by early processes of disease development is unclear. We selected diabetes-related amino acid ratios based on metabolic network structures and investigated causal effects of these ratios and single amino acids on the risk of type 2 diabetes in two-sample Mendelian randomization studies. Selection of genetic instruments for amino acid traits relied on genome-wide association studies in a representative sub-cohort (up to 2265 participants) of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Potsdam Study and public data from genome-wide association studies on single amino acids. For the selected instruments, outcome associations were drawn from the DIAGRAM (DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis, 74,124 cases and 824,006 controls) consortium. Mendelian randomization results indicate an inverse association for a per standard deviation increase in ln-transformed tyrosine/methionine ratio with type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.87 (0.81–0.93)). Multivariable Mendelian randomization revealed inverse association for higher log10-transformed tyrosine levels with type 2 diabetes (OR = 0.19 (0.04–0.88)), independent of other amino acids. Tyrosine might be a causal trait for type 2 diabetes independent of other diabetes-associated amino acids.


Author(s):  
Guanghao Qi ◽  
Nilanjan Chatterjee

Abstract Background Previous studies have often evaluated methods for Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis based on simulations that do not adequately reflect the data-generating mechanisms in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and there are often discrepancies in the performance of MR methods in simulations and real data sets. Methods We use a simulation framework that generates data on full GWAS for two traits under a realistic model for effect-size distribution coherent with the heritability, co-heritability and polygenicity typically observed for complex traits. We further use recent data generated from GWAS of 38 biomarkers in the UK Biobank and performed down sampling to investigate trends in estimates of causal effects of these biomarkers on the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Results Simulation studies show that weighted mode and MRMix are the only two methods that maintain the correct type I error rate in a diverse set of scenarios. Between the two methods, MRMix tends to be more powerful for larger GWAS whereas the opposite is true for smaller sample sizes. Among the other methods, random-effect IVW (inverse-variance weighted method), MR-Robust and MR-RAPS (robust adjust profile score) tend to perform best in maintaining a low mean-squared error when the InSIDE assumption is satisfied, but can produce large bias when InSIDE is violated. In real-data analysis, some biomarkers showed major heterogeneity in estimates of their causal effects on the risk of T2D across the different methods and estimates from many methods trended in one direction with increasing sample size with patterns similar to those observed in simulation studies. Conclusion The relative performance of different MR methods depends heavily on the sample sizes of the underlying GWAS, the proportion of valid instruments and the validity of the InSIDE assumption. Down-sampling analysis can be used in large GWAS for the possible detection of bias in the MR methods.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Taiyue Jin ◽  
Jiyoung Youn ◽  
Moonil Kang ◽  
Joohon Sung ◽  
Jung Eun Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives Epidemiological studies suggested the evidence that coffee consumption decreased risk of type 2 diabetes. Recently, Japanese genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of coffee consumption has identified rs2074356 (G > A) at 12q24.12–13 in HECTD4. This study aims to examine the associations of habitual coffee consumption with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, and whether this association is modified by rs2074356 variant in Korean adults. Methods A total of 4010 participants (1890 men and 2120 women) who had genetic information from Korea Association REsource (KARE) study were included. Habitual coffee consumption was assessed through a food frequency questionnaire and categorized into five categories (non-consumers, <1 cup/day and ≥1 cups/day of black coffee, and <1 cup/day and ≥1 cups/day of sugared coffee). Incident prediabetes or type 2 diabetes were defined according to the self-report of physician-diagnosis, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratio (OR)s and 95% confidence interval (CI)s. Results A total of 2916 participants (72.7%) have developed prediabetes during a follow-up of 15 years. We found that black coffee consumption lowered risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes combined among men and women combined (OR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.44–0.91 for ≥1 cups/day black coffee vs. non-consumers). When we separated men and women, compared with non-consumers, ORs (95% CIs) for ≥1 cups/day of black coffee were 0.50 (0.27–0.93) among men and 0.72 (0.45–1.14) among women and ORs (95% CIs) for ≥1 cups/day of sugared coffee were 1.41 (0.91–2.18) among men and 1.12 (0.80–1.58) among women. We observed a suggestive difference by rs2074356 (GG vs. AG + AA). Compared with non-consumers, participants with AG + AA genotypes consumed ≥ 1 cups/day of black coffee had a 60% lower risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes combined (95% CI 0.20–0.78), but we found a weaker association among those with GG genotype (OR = 0.81; 95% CI = 0.51–1.28). Conclusions We observed an inverse association between black coffee consumption and prediabetes and type 2 diabetes combined in Korean population. This association was more pronounced among carriers of minor allele of HECTD4 rs2074356 (AG/AA). Funding Sources None.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songzan Chen ◽  
Fangkun Yang ◽  
Tian Xu ◽  
Yao Wang ◽  
Kaijie Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Excessive sedentary behaviors have been reported to be associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, but whether this association is causal remains unclear. In current study, we aimed to investigate the causal association between domain-specific sedentary behaviors and the risk of type 2 diabetes using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study. Methods: We identified 165 single nucleotide polymorphisms as instrumental variables for television watching, 43 for computer use and 5 for driving behavior from a recently published genome-wide association study (n = 408,815). Genetic association estimates for type 2 diabetes were obtained from the DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis (DIAGRAM) consortium (74,124 cases and 824,006 controls). The inverse variance-weighted method was used to estimate the effect of genetically predicted sedentary behaviors on the risk of type 2 diabetes. Reverse MR analysis was performed to investigate the reverse causation. The weighted median method, MR-Egger method, and MR Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outlier method were employed in the sensitivity analyses. In addition, multivariable MR analysis and mediation analysis were conducted to explore the potential mechanistic elements.Results: Genetic predisposition to excessive television watching was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The OR (95% CI) per 1.5h (1 standard deviation) increment in television watching time was 1.82 (1.61, 2.07) for type 2 diabetes. This association was substantially attenuated after adjustment for anthropometric traits (adjusting BMI: OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.17 – 1.57, P = 4.1 × 10-5; adjusting WHR: OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.09 – 1.45, P = 1.4 × 10-3) and educational attainment (OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.16 – 1.91, P = 1.7 × 10-3). There was limited evidence of associations of computer use and driving behavior with the risk of type 2 diabetes. Conclusions: Our study clarifies the causal effect of excessive television watching on the increased risk of type 2 diabetes from a genetic perspective, which may be partly mediated via anthropometric and educational traits. Television watching may serve as a behavioral target to prevent incident diabetes.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heejin Jin ◽  
Sanghun Lee ◽  
Sungho Won

Multiple studies have demonstrated the effects of type 2 diabetes (T2D) on various human diseases; however, most of these were observational epidemiological studies that suffered from many potential biases including reported confounding and reverse causations. In this article, we investigated whether cancer and vascular disease can be affected by T2D-related traits, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-h postprandial plasma glucose (2h-PG), and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, by using Mendelian randomization (MR). The summary statistics for FPG, 2h-PG, and HbA1c were obtained through meta-analyses of large-scale genome-wide association studies that included data from 133,010 non-diabetic individuals from collaborating Meta-Analysis of Glucose and Insulin related traits Consortium studies. Thereafter, based on the statistical assumptions for MR analyses, the most reliable approaches including inverse-variance-weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, MR-Egger with a simulation extrapolation (SIMEX), weighted median and MR-Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) methods were applied to identify traits affected by FPG, 2h-PG, and HbAlc. We found that coronary artery disease is affected by FPG, as per the IVW [log odds ratio (logOR): 0.21; P=0.012], MR-Egger (SIMEX) (logOR: 0.22; P=0.014), MR-PRESSO (logOR: 0.18; P=0.045), and weighted median (logOR: 0.29; P<0.001) methods, but not as per the MR-Egger (logOR: 0.13; P=0.426) approach. Furthermore, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels are affected by HbA1c, as per the IVW (beta (B): 0.23; P=0.015), MR-Egger (B: 0.45; P=0.046), MR-Egger (SIMEX) (B: 0.27; P=0.007), MR-PRESSO (B; 0.14; P=0.010), and the weighted median (B: 0.15; P=0.012) methods. Further studies of the associated biological mechanisms are required to validate and understand the disease-specific differences identified in the TD2-related causal effects of each trait.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoyang Zhang ◽  
Xuehao Xiu ◽  
Angli Xue ◽  
Yuedong Yang ◽  
Yuanhao Yang ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundThe epidemiological association between type 2 diabetes and cataract has been well-established. However, it remains unclear whether the two diseases share a genetic basis, and if so, whether this reflects a causal relationship.MethodsWe utilized East Asian population-based genome-wide association studies (GWAS) summary statistics of type 2 diabetes (Ncase=36,614, Ncontrol=155,150) and cataract (Ncase=24,622, Ncontrol=187,831) to comprehensively investigate the shared genetics between the two diseases. We performed 1. linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) and heritability estimation from summary statistics (ρ-HESS) to estimate the genetic correlation and local genetic correlation between type 2 diabetes and cataract; 2. multiple Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to infer the putative causality between type 2 diabetes and cataract; and 3. Summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR) to identify candidate risk genes underling the causality.ResultsWe observed a strong genetic correlation (rg=0.58; p-value=5.60×10−6) between type 2 diabetes and cataract. Both ρ-HESS and multiple MR methods consistently showed a putative causal effect of type 2 diabetes on cataract, with estimated liability-scale MR odds ratios (ORs) at around 1.10 (95% confidence interval [CI] ranging from 1.06 to 1.17). In contrast, no evidence supports a causal effect of cataract on type 2 diabetes. SMR analysis identified two novel genes MIR4453HG (βSMR=−0.34, p-value=6.41×10−8) and KCNK17 (βSMR=−0.07, p-value=2.49×10−10), whose expression levels were likely involved in the putative causality of type 2 diabetes on cataract.ConclusionsOur results provided robust evidence supporting a causal effect of type 2 diabetes on the risk of cataract in East Asians, and posed new paths on guiding prevention and early-stage diagnosis of cataract in type 2 diabetes patients.Key MessagesWe utilized genome-wide association studies of type 2 diabetes and cataract in a large Japanese population-based cohort and find a strong genetic overlap underlying the two diseases.We performed multiple Mendelian randomization models and consistently disclosed a putative causal effect of type 2 diabetes on the development of cataract.We revealed two candidate genes MIR4453HG and KCNK17 whose expression levelss are likely relevant to the causality between type 2 diabetes and cataract.Our study provided theoretical fundament at the genetic level for improving early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cataract in type 2 diabetes patients in clinical practice


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