Background
Observational research has shown inconclusively that nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and myocardial infarction (MI) are related. The relationship between NAFLD and MI is yet unclear. We used the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to examine the causal relationship between NAFLD and MI.
Method
Genetics tools were used in the study and were derived from publicly available genetic summary data from meta-analyses. There is a strong association between NAFLD and five single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). MR analyses were conducted using the inverse variance weighted technique, weighted median method, MR-Egger regression, MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum, and Outlier test.
Results
Inverse variance weighted (OR = 1.01, 95 percent confidence interval (CI) = 0.86–1.75, p = 0.94), MR-Egger regression (OR = 0.77, 95 percent CI = 0.66–0.90, p = 0.084), and weighted median method (OR = 0.95, 95 percent CI = 0.91-1.00, p = 0.068) analyses failed to provide any direct evidence that NAFLD increases the risk of MI.
Conclusions
The thorough MR study revealed that there might not be a causal association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the risk of myocardial infarction.