Birth weight, childhood obesity, adulthood obesity and body composition, and gastrointestinal diseases: a Mendelian randomization study

Citations Over TimeTop 1% of 2023 papers

Abstract

Abstract Objective This Mendelian randomization study aimed to investigate the associations of birth weight, childhood BMI, and adulthood BMI, waist‐hip ratio, and body composition with the risk of 24 gastrointestinal diseases. Methods Independent genetic instruments associated with the exposures at the genome‐wide significance level ( p < 5 × 10 −8 ) were selected from corresponding large‐scale genome‐wide association studies. Summary‐level data for gastrointestinal diseases were obtained from the UK Biobank, the FinnGen study, and large consortia of European ancestry. Results Genetically predicted higher levels of birth weight were associated with a lower risk of gastroesophageal reflux. Genetically predicted higher childhood BMI was associated with an increased risk of duodenal ulcer, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and cholelithiasis. However, the associations did not persist after adjusting for genetically predicted adulthood BMI. Genetically predicted higher adulthood BMI and waist‐hip ratio were associated with 19 and 17 gastrointestinal diseases, respectively. Genetically predicted greater visceral adiposity was associated with an increased risk of 17 gastrointestinal diseases. There were no strong associations among genetically predicted whole‐body fat and fat‐free mass indices with gastrointestinal diseases. Conclusions This study suggests that greater adulthood adiposity, measured as either BMI, waist‐hip ratio, or visceral adipose tissue, is causally associated with an increased risk of a broad range of gastrointestinal diseases in the European population.

Related Papers

• → Multivariable Mendelian Randomization: The Use of Pleiotropic Genetic Variants to Estimate Causal Effects(2015)1,715 cited
• → Re: “Multivariable Mendelian Randomization: The Use of Pleiotropic Genetic Variants to Estimate Causal Effects”(2015)1,009 cited
• → Mendelian randomization in nutritional epidemiology(2009)58 cited
• → Serum Triglycerides and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: Insights from Clinical and Genetic Studies(2018)52 cited
• → Mendelian Randomization: How Genetics Is Pushing the Boundaries of Epidemiology to Identify New Causes of Heart Disease(2012)22 cited