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Genetically predicted circulating concentrations of micronutrients and risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a Mendelian randomization study

  • Maternal-Fetal Medicine
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Epidemiological studies examining the association between circulating micronutrients and the risk of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy (HDP) have produced inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted a Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to evaluate the potential causal relationship between micronutrients and HDP.

Methods

Nine micronutrients (beta-carotene, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, calcium, zinc, selenium, copper, folate, and phosphorus) were selected as the exposure factors. Summary data for gestational hypertension (14,727 cases and 196,143 controls) and preeclampsia/eclampsia (7212 cases and 174,266 controls) were extracted from the FinnGen consortium. The MR analysis employed the inverse variance weighted method and conducted a range of sensitivity analyses.

Results

The inverse variance weighted method indicated no significant causal relationship between nine genetically predicted micronutrient concentrations and gestational hypertension, as well as preeclampsia/eclampsia. Sensitivity analyses suggested the absence of pleiotropy.

Conclusion

There is no strong evidence to support the causation between circulating micronutrients and hypertensive disorder during pregnancy.

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Data availability

The study utilized exclusively data that is accessible to the public, with the sources of this data detailed in the Materials and Methods section.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

    Ting Huang

  2. Department of Emergency, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

    Fan Lu

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  1. Ting Huang
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  2. Fan Lu
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TH: Study conception and design, explore the literature, manuscript writing. FL: Data collection and analysis, explore the literature, manuscript editing.

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Correspondence to Fan Lu.

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Huang, T., Lu, F. Genetically predicted circulating concentrations of micronutrients and risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a Mendelian randomization study. Arch Gynecol Obstet (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-023-07331-y

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