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Rasheed H, Zheng J, Rees J, Sanderson E, Thomas L, Richardson TG, Fang S, Bekkevold OJ, Stovner EB, Gabrielsen ME, Skogholt AH, Romundstad S, Brumpton B, Hallan S, Willer C, Burgess S, Hveem K, Davey Smith G, Gaunt TR, Åsvold BO. The causal effects of serum lipids and apolipoproteins on kidney function: multivariable and bidirectional Mendelian-randomization analyses. Int J Epidemiol 2021; 50:1569-1579. [PMID: 34151951 PMCID: PMC8580277 DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyab014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The causal nature of the observed associations between serum lipids and apolipoproteins and kidney function are unclear. Methods Using two-sample and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR), we examined the causal effects of serum lipids and apolipoproteins on kidney function, indicated by the glomerular-filtration rate estimated using creatinine (eGFRcrea) or cystatin C (eGFRcys) and the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR). We obtained lipid- and apolipoprotein-associated genetic variants from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium (n = 331 368) and UK Biobank (n = 441 016), respectively, and kidney-function markers from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT; n = 69 736) and UK Biobank (n = 464 207). The reverse causal direction was examined using variants associated with kidney-function markers selected from recent genome-wide association studies. Results There were no strong associations between genetically predicted lipid and apolipoprotein levels with kidney-function markers. Some, but inconsistent, evidence suggested a weak association of higher genetically predicted atherogenic lipid levels [indicated by low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides and apolipoprotein B] with increased eGFR and UACR. For high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), results differed between eGFRcrea and eGFRcys, but neither analysis suggested substantial effects. We found no clear evidence of a reverse causal effect of eGFR on lipid or apolipoprotein traits, but higher UACR was associated with higher LDL-C, triglyceride and apolipoprotein B levels. Conclusion Our MR estimates suggest that serum lipid and apolipoprotein levels do not cause substantial changes in kidney function. A possible weak effect of higher atherogenic lipids on increased eGFR and UACR warrants further investigation. Processes leading to higher UACR may lead to more atherogenic lipid levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humaira Rasheed
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Chemistry, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan
- Corresponding author. K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. E-mail:
| | - Jie Zheng
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Jessica Rees
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Eleanor Sanderson
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Laurent Thomas
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Tom G Richardson
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Si Fang
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Ole-Jørgen Bekkevold
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Endre Bakken Stovner
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Maiken Elvestad Gabrielsen
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Anne Heidi Skogholt
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Solfrid Romundstad
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Internal Medicine, Levanger Hospital, Nord-Trøndelag Hospital Trust, Levanger, Norway
| | - Ben Brumpton
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Department of Thoracic Medicine, St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Stein Hallan
- Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Nephrology, St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Cristen Willer
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Stephen Burgess
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Kristian Hveem
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Tom R Gaunt
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Bjørn Olav Åsvold
- K.G. Jebsen Center for Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Nursing, NTNU, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Department of Endocrinology, Clinic of Medicine, St Olavs Hospital, Trondheim University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
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Liu Y, Elsworth B, Erola P, Haberland V, Hemani G, Lyon M, Zheng J, Lloyd O, Vabistsevits M, Gaunt TR. EpiGraphDB: a database and data mining platform for health data science. Bioinformatics 2021; 37:1304-1311. [PMID: 33165574 PMCID: PMC8189674 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaa961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Revised: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION The wealth of data resources on human phenotypes, risk factors, molecular traits and therapeutic interventions presents new opportunities for population health sciences. These opportunities are paralleled by a growing need for data integration, curation and mining to increase research efficiency, reduce mis-inference and ensure reproducible research. RESULTS We developed EpiGraphDB (https://epigraphdb.org/), a graph database containing an array of different biomedical and epidemiological relationships and an analytical platform to support their use in human population health data science. In addition, we present three case studies that illustrate the value of this platform. The first uses EpiGraphDB to evaluate potential pleiotropic relationships, addressing mis-inference in systematic causal analysis. In the second case study, we illustrate how protein-protein interaction data offer opportunities to identify new drug targets. The final case study integrates causal inference using Mendelian randomization with relationships mined from the biomedical literature to 'triangulate' evidence from different sources. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The EpiGraphDB platform is openly available at https://epigraphdb.org. Code for replicating case study results is available at https://github.com/MRCIEU/epigraphdb as Jupyter notebooks using the API, and https://mrcieu.github.io/epigraphdb-r using the R package. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Liu
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Benjamin Elsworth
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Pau Erola
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Valeriia Haberland
- Cancer Genetics, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Gibran Hemani
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Matt Lyon
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Jie Zheng
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Oliver Lloyd
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Marina Vabistsevits
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Tom R Gaunt
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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