Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 6, 2025
Subcutaneous Angiotensin II Infusion using Osmotic Pumps Induces Aortic Aneurysms in Mice
Published on: September 28, 2015
Causal association between uric acid levels and the risk of aortic aneurysm and aortic dissection: A two-sample
Jian Chen1, Xing Zhang1, Hao Yao1
1Heart Center, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital (Affiliated People's Hospital), Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Insights
Elevated serum uric acid (UA) levels causally increase the risk of aortic aneurysm (AA). However, this study found no causal link between UA levels and aortic dissection (AD) risk.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Science
- Genetics
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The relationship between serum uric acid (UA) and aortic diseases like aortic aneurysm (AA) and aortic dissection (AD) requires causal investigation.
- Previous observational studies suggest associations, but causality remains unproven.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the causal effect of serum uric acid levels on the risk of developing aortic aneurysm (AA) and aortic dissection (AD).
Main Methods:
- A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted using genetic variants associated with UA levels.
- Genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for UA and summary statistics from the FinnGen database for AA and AD were utilized.
- Multiple sensitivity analyses were performed to ensure the robustness of the findings.
Main Results:
- Genetically predicted higher serum uric acid levels were significantly associated with an increased risk of aortic aneurysm (OR, 1.223; P = 0.017).
- No significant association was found between serum uric acid levels and the risk of aortic dissection (OR, 0.812; P = 0.293).
Conclusions:
- This study provides robust evidence for a causal relationship between elevated serum uric acid levels and an increased risk of aortic aneurysm.
- The findings do not support a causal link between serum uric acid levels and aortic dissection risk, warranting further investigation.
Background And Aims:
Increasing numbers of studies have sought to uncover the relationship between serum uric acid (UA) levels and the risk of aortic aneurysm (AA) or aortic dissection (AD), but the causality of the associations has not been established yet. To assess this potential relationship, we conducted a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
Methods And Results:
We performed two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using independent genetic variants for UA levels from a published genome-wide association study (GWAS). Summary statistics for instrument-outcome associations from FinnGen database for AA and AD. Various sensitivity analyses were performed using different MR methods including random effects inverse variance weighting, fix effects inverse variance weighting, MR-Egger, weighted median/mode, and the contamination mixture method. Genetically predicted UA levels was associated with a higher AA risk (odds ratio (OR), 1.223; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.058-1.388; p = 0.017) in a simple size of 209,366 individuals. No association was found between uric acid levels and the risk of AD (OR,0.812; 95 % CI, 0.423-1.200; p = 0.293).
Conclusion:
Our study suggests a significant and robust causal association between UA levels and risk of AA but did not support such a relationship between UA levels and AD risk, which might be interpreted with caution and further confirmed. These findings support a clinically relevant causal effect of serum urate levels on the risk of AA.
