Metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease-related diseases, cognition and dementia: A two-sample mendelian randomization study

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297883
• Publication Date: 2024-02-29T18:50:25Z
• Authors: Yao-Shuang Li; Yu-Ge Xia; Yan-Lan Liu; Wei-Ran Jiang; Hui-Na Qiu; Fan Wu; Jing-Bo Li; Jing-Na Lin
• Keywords: Liver Cirrhosis; Cognition; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Alzheimer Disease; Science; Dementia, Vascular; Q; R; Medicine; Humans; Mendelian Randomization Analysis; Research Article

Background The results of current studies on metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)-related diseases, cognition and dementia are inconsistent. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of MASLD-related diseases on cognition and dementia.

Methods By using single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with different traits of NAFLD (chronically elevated serum alanine aminotransferase levels [cALT], imaging-accessed and biopsy-proven NAFLD), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, and liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, we employed three methods of mendelian randomization (MR) analysis (inverse-variance weighted [IVW], weighted median, and MR-Egger) to determine the causal relationships between MASLD-related diseases and cognition and dementia. We used Cochran’s Q test to examine the heterogeneity, and MR-PRESSO was used to identify outliers (NbDistribution = 10000). The horizontal pleiotropy was evaluated using the MR-Egger intercept test. A leave-one-out analysis was used to assess the impact of individual SNP on the overall MR results. We also repeated the MR analysis after excluding SNPs associated with confounding factors.

Results The results of MR analysis suggested positive causal associations between MASLD confirmed by liver biopsy (p of IVW = 0.020, OR = 1.660, 95%CI = 1.082–2.546) and liver fibrosis and cirrhosis (p of IVW = 0.009, OR = 1.849, 95%CI = 1.169–2.922) with vascular dementia (VD). However, there was no evidence of a causal link between MASLD-related diseases and cognitive performance and other types of dementia (any dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia). Sensitivity tests supported the robustness of the results.

Conclusions This two-sample MR analysis suggests that genetically predicted MASLD and liver fibrosis and cirrhosis may increase the VD risk. Nonetheless, the causal effects of NAFLD-related diseases on VD need more in-depth research.