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Jin T, Huang W, Pang Q, He Z, Yuan L, Zhang H, Xing D, Guo S, Zhang T. Inferring the genetic effects of serum homocysteine and vitamin B levels on autism spectral disorder through Mendelian randomization. Eur J Nutr 2024; 63:977-986. [PMID: 38265752 DOI: 10.1007/s00394-024-03329-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE The previous studies have suggested that serum homocysteine (Hcy) and vitamin B levels are potentially related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the causality between their concentrations and ASD risk remains unclear. To elucidate this genetic association, we used a Mendelian randomization (MR) design. METHODS For this MR analysis, 47 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)-13 related to Hcy, 13 to folate, 14 to vitamin B6, and 7 to vitamin B12-were obtained from a large-scale Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) database and employed as instrumental variables (IVs). Our study used three approaches to calculate the MR estimates, including inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method, MR-Egger method, and weighted median (WM) method. Among these, the IVW method served as our primary MR method. False discovery rate (FDR) was implemented to correct for multiple comparisons. We also performed a series of sensitivity analyses, including Cochran's Q test, MR-Egger's intercept, MR-PRESSO, leave-one-out analysis, and the funnel plot. RESULTS Univariable Mendelian randomization (UVMR) analysis revealed a statistical association between serum vitamin B12 levels and ASD risk (OR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.12-2.52, P = 0.01) using the IVW method. However, neither the WM method (OR = 1.57, 95% CI 0.93-2.66, P = 0.09) nor the MR-Egger method (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 0.48-11.19, P = 0.34) was significantly association with higher levels of serum vitamin B12 and ASD risk. Additionally, we found no evidence of causal relationships between serum levels of vitamin B6, folate, Hcy, and ASD risk. After correcting for the FDR, the causality between serum vitamin B12 levels and ASD risk remained significant (q value = 0.0270). Multivariate Mendelian randomization (MVMR) analysis indicated an independent association between elevated serum vitamin B12 levels and the risk of ASD (OR = 1.74, 95% CI 1.03-2.95, P = 0.03) using the IVW method, but this finding was inconsistent when using the WM method (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 0.89-3.36, P = 0.11) and MR-Egger method (OR = 1.60, 95% CI 0.95-2.71, P = 0.08). Furthermore, no causal associations were observed for serum levels of vitamin B6 and folate in MVMR analysis. Sensitivity analyses confirmed that these results were reliable. CONCLUSION Our study indicated that elevated serum vitamin B12 levels might increase the risk of ASD. The potential implications of our results for ASD risk warrant validation in randomized clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyu Jin
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China
| | - Wei Huang
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
- Drum Tower Clinical Medical College, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Qiongyi Pang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China
| | - Zitian He
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China
| | - Linran Yuan
- Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China
- University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Haojie Zhang
- Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China
- School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Dalin Xing
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China
| | - Shunyuan Guo
- Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Neurology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Tong Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
- The Second Clinical Medical College, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
- Beijing Bo'ai Hospital, China Rehabilitation Research Center, Beijing, China.
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