Environmental Noise and Cardiovascular Risk: A Causal Inference Study

Area of Science:

• Environmental epigenetics
• Cardiovascular epidemiology
• Genetic epidemiology

Background:

• Environmental noise is an emerging risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD).
• DNA methylation (DNAm) alterations may mediate the relationship between environmental exposures and disease.
• Causal links between noise-induced DNAm and CVD remain underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the causal association between noise-related DNAm alterations and CVDs.
• To examine the role of DNAm in mediating the impact of environmental noise on cardiovascular risk factors.

Main Methods:

• Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis using publicly available GWAS and EWAS data.
• Identified 13 noise-associated DNAm sites as exposures.
• Utilized genetic instruments (methylation quantitative trait loci) for 6 CVDs and 6 risk factors.

Main Results:

• 11 out of 13 noise-related DNAm sites showed significant associations with at least one CVD outcome.
• Specific sites (cg13402217, cg16218477) were linked to increased CVD risk, while cg19270309 showed protective effects.
• Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of the findings.

Conclusions:

• Provides novel causal evidence for DNAm alterations mediating the effects of environmental noise on CVDs.
• Highlights specific DNAm sites as potential mechanistic links between noise exposure and cardiovascular health.
• Supports the role of epigenetics in environmental disease etiology.