Mendelian randomization of chronic hepatitis B and cardiovascular disease

Abstract

BackgroundEvidence from observational studies suggests that chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, results have been inconsistent and causality remains to be established. We utilized two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate potential causal associations between CHB and CVD, including atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and ischemic stroke.MethodsThe analysis was conducted through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), considering chronic hepatitis B as the exposure and cardiovascular disease as the endpoint. The primary method for evaluating causality in this analysis was the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) technique. Additionally, we employed the weighted median, MR-Egger regression, weighted mode, and simple mode methods for supplementary analyses. Finally, heterogeneity tests, sensitivity analyses, and multiple effects analyses were conducted.ResultsIn a random-effects IVW analysis, we found that genetic susceptibility to chronic hepatitis B was associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis [OR = 1.048, 95% CI (1.022–1.075), P = 3.08E-04], as well as an increased risk of coronary heart disease [OR = 1.039, 95% CI (1.006–1.072), P = 0.020]. However, it was found to be inversely correlated with ischemic stroke risk [OR = 0.972, 95% CI (0.957–0.988), P = 4.13E-04]. There was no evidence that chronic hepatitis B was associated with hypertension [OR = 1.021, 95% CI (0.994–1.049), P = 0.121].ConclusionOur research indicates that chronic hepatitis B has a correlation with an elevated risk of developing atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, while it is associated with a decreased risk of experiencing an ischemic stroke.