Association between circulating unsaturated fatty acid and preeclampsia: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study

Area of Science:

• Nutritional epidemiology
• Maternal health
• Genetic research

Background:

• Observational studies suggest associations between unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) and preeclampsia risk.
• The precise causal relationship between circulating UFAs and preeclampsia remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the causal association between circulating UFAs and preeclampsia using a Mendelian randomization approach.

Main Methods:

• A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study utilized genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data for UFAs and preeclampsia.
• Inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was primary for causality estimation, with MR-PRESSO and MR-Egger for pleiotropy assessment.
• Sensitivity analyses included Cochran's Q test, leave-one-out analysis, and Bonferroni correction.

Main Results:

• MR analysis indicated a causal association between the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) to total fatty acids (OR 1.150) and preeclampsia.
• The ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to total fatty acids (OR 0.805) and the ratio of PUFAs to MUFAs (OR 0.807) were also causally associated with preeclampsia.
• After Bonferroni correction, the association between the PUFA to MUFA ratio and preeclampsia remained statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• This Mendelian randomization analysis provides evidence for a genetic causal association between circulating unsaturated fatty acids and preeclampsia.
• Specifically, the ratio of polyunsaturated to monounsaturated fatty acids is implicated in preeclampsia risk.