Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization study

Introduction Associations of pulmonary function as evaluated by forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been reported in observational studies. Nevertheless, observational studies are susceptible to bias and reverse c...

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Main Authors: Jiran Shen, Yue Wang, Sijing Zhou, Min Tang, Min Li, Rui Han, Ran Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Termedia Publishing House 2023-06-01
Series:Archives of Medical Science
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Online Access:https://www.archivesofmedicalscience.com/Lung-function-and-nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-a-Mendelian-randomization-study,168475,0,2.html
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author Jiran Shen
Yue Wang
Sijing Zhou
Min Tang
Min Li
Rui Han
Ran Wang
author_facet Jiran Shen
Yue Wang
Sijing Zhou
Min Tang
Min Li
Rui Han
Ran Wang
author_sort Jiran Shen
collection DOAJ
description Introduction Associations of pulmonary function as evaluated by forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been reported in observational studies. Nevertheless, observational studies are susceptible to bias and reverse causality, making it difficult to infer the existence and direction of causality. We aimed to evaluate the causal effect of pulmonary function on NAFLD using the Mendelian randomization (MR) method. Material and methods We performed univariate MR, multivariate MR, and bidirectional two-sample MR analyses to jointly assess the causal relationship between pulmonary function and NAFLD. In addition to the inverse variance weighting method as the primary MR analysis, three complementary methods were also performed. A series of sensitivity analyses were carried out to rule out pleiotropy. Results We found that each genetically predicted (standard deviation) SD increase in FEV1 and FVC was associated with decreased NAFLD risk. However, after adjusting for height in the multivariate MR, only the effect of FEV1 on NAFLD risk remained significant. Furthermore, we found no causal effect of NAFLD on lung function in the reverse MR analysis. Conclusions Our findings indicated that reduced lung function, especially FEV1, is causally associated with the risk of NAFLD. Although the mechanism remains unclear, FEV1 could be considered when assessing NAFLD risk and as a potential target for NAFLD prevention.
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spelling doaj-art-377c63a67a4e4b3784ddf8cef38adfcd2025-08-20T02:58:32ZengTermedia Publishing HouseArchives of Medical Science1734-19221896-91512023-06-0121119720510.5114/aoms/168475168475Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization studyJiran Shen0Yue Wang1Sijing Zhou2Min Tang3Min Li4Rui Han5Ran Wang6Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Infectious Disease, Hefei Second People’s Hospital, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Occupational Disease, Hefei Third Clinical College of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaIntroduction Associations of pulmonary function as evaluated by forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have been reported in observational studies. Nevertheless, observational studies are susceptible to bias and reverse causality, making it difficult to infer the existence and direction of causality. We aimed to evaluate the causal effect of pulmonary function on NAFLD using the Mendelian randomization (MR) method. Material and methods We performed univariate MR, multivariate MR, and bidirectional two-sample MR analyses to jointly assess the causal relationship between pulmonary function and NAFLD. In addition to the inverse variance weighting method as the primary MR analysis, three complementary methods were also performed. A series of sensitivity analyses were carried out to rule out pleiotropy. Results We found that each genetically predicted (standard deviation) SD increase in FEV1 and FVC was associated with decreased NAFLD risk. However, after adjusting for height in the multivariate MR, only the effect of FEV1 on NAFLD risk remained significant. Furthermore, we found no causal effect of NAFLD on lung function in the reverse MR analysis. Conclusions Our findings indicated that reduced lung function, especially FEV1, is causally associated with the risk of NAFLD. Although the mechanism remains unclear, FEV1 could be considered when assessing NAFLD risk and as a potential target for NAFLD prevention.https://www.archivesofmedicalscience.com/Lung-function-and-nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-a-Mendelian-randomization-study,168475,0,2.htmlforced expiratory volume in 1 s (fev1)forced vital capacity (fvc)mendelian randomizationnonalcoholic fatty liver diseaselung function
spellingShingle Jiran Shen
Yue Wang
Sijing Zhou
Min Tang
Min Li
Rui Han
Ran Wang
Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization study
Archives of Medical Science
forced expiratory volume in 1 s (fev1)
forced vital capacity (fvc)
mendelian randomization
nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
lung function
title Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization study
title_full Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization study
title_fullStr Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization study
title_full_unstemmed Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization study
title_short Lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a Mendelian randomization study
title_sort lung function and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease a mendelian randomization study
topic forced expiratory volume in 1 s (fev1)
forced vital capacity (fvc)
mendelian randomization
nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
lung function
url https://www.archivesofmedicalscience.com/Lung-function-and-nonalcoholic-fatty-liver-disease-a-Mendelian-randomization-study,168475,0,2.html
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