Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. We aimed to summarize what is currently known with regard to causal modifiable risk factors associated with CAD in populations of diverse ancestries through conducting a systematic review and...

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Main Authors: Sarah Silva, Segun Fatumo, Dorothea Nitsch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2024-01-01
Series:Systematic Reviews
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02442-8
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author Sarah Silva
Segun Fatumo
Dorothea Nitsch
author_facet Sarah Silva
Segun Fatumo
Dorothea Nitsch
author_sort Sarah Silva
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. We aimed to summarize what is currently known with regard to causal modifiable risk factors associated with CAD in populations of diverse ancestries through conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization (MR) studies on CAD. Methods The databases Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched on the 19th and 20th of December 2022 for MR studies with CAD as a primary outcome; keywords of the search strategy included “coronary artery disease” and “mendelian randomization”. Studies were included if they were published in the English language, included only human participants, employed Mendelian randomization as the primary methodology and studied CAD as the outcome of interest. The exclusion criteria resulted in the removal of studies that did not align with the predefined inclusion criteria, as well as studies which were systematic reviews themselves, and used the same exposure and outcome source as another study. An ancestry-specific meta-analysis was subsequently conducted on studies which investigated either body mass index, lipid traits, blood pressure or type 2 diabetes as an exposure variable. Assessment of publication bias and sensitivity analyses was conducted for risk of bias assessment in the included studies. Results A total of 1781 studies were identified through the database searches after de-duplication was performed, with 47 studies included in the quantitative synthesis after eligibility screening. Approximately 80% of all included study participants for MR studies on CAD were of European descent irrespective of the exposure of interest, while no study included individuals of African ancestry. We found no evidence of differences in terms of direction of causation between ancestry groups; however, the strength of the respective relationships between each exposure and CAD were different, with this finding most evident when blood pressure was the exposure of interest. Conclusions Findings from this review suggest that patterns regarding the causational relationship between modifiable risk factors and CAD do not differ in terms of direction when compared across diverse ancestry populations. Differences in the observed strengths of the respective relationships however are indicative of the value of increasing representation in non-European populations, as novel genetic pathways or functional SNPs relating to CAD may be uncovered through a more global analysis. Systematic review registration The protocol for this systematic review was registered to the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) and is publicly available online (CRD42021272726).
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spelling doaj.art-938908c9bc6c4f71ab66e402f59f1b552024-01-21T12:12:25ZengBMCSystematic Reviews2046-40532024-01-0113111110.1186/s13643-023-02442-8Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysisSarah Silva0Segun Fatumo1Dorothea Nitsch2Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineDepartment of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineDepartment of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical MedicineAbstract Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. We aimed to summarize what is currently known with regard to causal modifiable risk factors associated with CAD in populations of diverse ancestries through conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of Mendelian randomization (MR) studies on CAD. Methods The databases Embase, Medline, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched on the 19th and 20th of December 2022 for MR studies with CAD as a primary outcome; keywords of the search strategy included “coronary artery disease” and “mendelian randomization”. Studies were included if they were published in the English language, included only human participants, employed Mendelian randomization as the primary methodology and studied CAD as the outcome of interest. The exclusion criteria resulted in the removal of studies that did not align with the predefined inclusion criteria, as well as studies which were systematic reviews themselves, and used the same exposure and outcome source as another study. An ancestry-specific meta-analysis was subsequently conducted on studies which investigated either body mass index, lipid traits, blood pressure or type 2 diabetes as an exposure variable. Assessment of publication bias and sensitivity analyses was conducted for risk of bias assessment in the included studies. Results A total of 1781 studies were identified through the database searches after de-duplication was performed, with 47 studies included in the quantitative synthesis after eligibility screening. Approximately 80% of all included study participants for MR studies on CAD were of European descent irrespective of the exposure of interest, while no study included individuals of African ancestry. We found no evidence of differences in terms of direction of causation between ancestry groups; however, the strength of the respective relationships between each exposure and CAD were different, with this finding most evident when blood pressure was the exposure of interest. Conclusions Findings from this review suggest that patterns regarding the causational relationship between modifiable risk factors and CAD do not differ in terms of direction when compared across diverse ancestry populations. Differences in the observed strengths of the respective relationships however are indicative of the value of increasing representation in non-European populations, as novel genetic pathways or functional SNPs relating to CAD may be uncovered through a more global analysis. Systematic review registration The protocol for this systematic review was registered to the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) and is publicly available online (CRD42021272726).https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02442-8Coronary artery diseaseCoronary heart diseaseAncestryMendelian randomizationSystematic review
spellingShingle Sarah Silva
Segun Fatumo
Dorothea Nitsch
Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Systematic Reviews
Coronary artery disease
Coronary heart disease
Ancestry
Mendelian randomization
Systematic review
title Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort mendelian randomization studies on coronary artery disease a systematic review and meta analysis
topic Coronary artery disease
Coronary heart disease
Ancestry
Mendelian randomization
Systematic review
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02442-8
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