Approved research

A three-way bi-directional Mendelian randomization analysis of diabetes, chronic kidney disease and coronary heart disease

Lay summary

Traditional observational studies have reported positive associations among (a) type 2 diabetes, (b) chronic kidney function, and (c) coronary heart disease. However, whether the association is due to confounding or reverse causality is unclear. This proposal aims to investigate the causal association among these 3 health conditions with each other using Mendelian randomization instrumental variable analysis. The proposed research will help investigate how these diseases affect each other using Mendelian randomization design which is less susceptible to confounding than observational studies. The results will provide additional insights concerning the bi-directional association among 3 major health threats (cardiovascular disease, diabetes and renal disease) with corresponding implications for etiology and therapeutics. We compare risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and renal disease, according to genetically determined per unit of risk difference (per odds of) for these three diseases. 500,000 participants (full cohort) for the analysis involving cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, renal disease and genetic data.