Liu S, Wu Q, Wang S, He Y. Causal associations between circulation β-carotene and cardiovascular disease: A Mendelian randomization study.
Medicine (Baltimore) 2023;
102:e36432. [PMID:
38050227 PMCID:
PMC10695590 DOI:
10.1097/md.0000000000036432]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The causal association between circulating β-carotene concentrations and cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains controversial. We conducted a Mendelian randomization study to explore the effects of β-carotene on various cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and stroke. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the β-carotene levels were obtained by searching published data and used as instrumental variables. Genetic association estimates for 4 CVDs (including myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and stroke) in the primary analysis, blood pressure and serum lipids (high-density lipoprotein [HDL] cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides) in the secondary analysis were obtained from large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWASs). We applied inverse variance-weighted as the primary analysis method, and 3 others were used to verify as sensitivity analysis. Genetically predicted circulating β-carotene levels (natural log-transformed, µg/L) were positively associated with myocardial infarction (odds ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.18, P = .011) after Bonferroni correction. No evidence supported the causal effect of β-carotene on atrial fibrillation (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.96-1.09, P = .464), heart failure (OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.97-1.19, P = .187), stroke (OR 1.03, 95% CI 0.93-1.15, P = .540), blood pressure (P > .372) and serum lipids (P > .239). Sensitivity analysis produced consistent results. This study provides evidence for a causal relationship between circulating β-carotene and myocardial infarction. These findings have important implications for understanding the role of β-carotene in CVD and may inform dietary recommendations and intervention strategies for preventing myocardial infarction.
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