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Causal Relationship between Obesity and Vitamin D Status: Bi-Directional Mendelian Randomization Analysis of Multiple Cohorts

PLoS Medicine · 2013 · Vol. 10(2) · pp. e1001383–e1001383

Karani S. Vimaleswaran(University College London)Diane J. Berry(University College London)Lu Chen(Boston University)Emmi Tikkanen(Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare)Stefan Pilz(EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research)Linda T. Hiraki(Harvard University)Jason D. Cooper(Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation)Zari Dastani(McGill University)Rui Li(McGill University)Denise K. Houston(Wake Forest University)Andrew R. Wood(Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry)Karl Michaëlsson(Uppsala University)Liesbeth Vandenput(University of Gothenburg)Lina Zgaga(University of Zagreb)Laura M. Yerges-Armstrong(University of Maryland, Baltimore)Mark I. McCarthy(Churchill Hospital)Josée Dupuis(Framingham Heart Study)Marika Kaakinen(University of Oulu)Marcus E. Kleber(Heidelberg University)Anthony James(University of Southampton)Nigel Arden(NIHR Oxford Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Centre)Olli Raitakari(Turku University Hospital)Jorma Viikari(University of Turku)Kurt K. Lohman(Wake Forest University)Luigi Ferrucci(MedStar Harbor Hospital)Håkan Melhus(Uppsala University)Erik Ingelsson(Karolinska Institutet)Liisa Byberg(Uppsala University)Lars Lind(Uppsala University)Mattias Lorentzon(University of Gothenburg)Veikko Salomaa(Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare)Harry Campbell(University of Edinburgh)Malcolm G. Dunlop(Western General Hospital)Braxton D. Mitchell(University of Maryland, Baltimore)Karl-Heinz Herzig(Kuopio University Hospital)Anneli Pouta(University of Oulu)Anna-Liisa Hartikainen(University of Oulu)Elizabeth A. Streeten(University of Maryland, Baltimore)Evropi Τheodoratou(University of Edinburgh)Antti Jula(Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare)Nicholas J. Wareham(Addenbrooke's Hospital)Claes Ohlsson(University of Gothenburg)Timothy M. Frayling(University of Exeter)Stephen B. Kritchevsky(Wake Forest University)Timothy D. Spector(King's College London)J. Brent Richards(King's College London)Terho Lehtimäki(Fimlab (Finland))Willem H. Ouwehand(NHS Blood and Transplant)Peter Kraft(Harvard University)Cyrus Cooper(MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit)Winfried März(Heidelberg University)Chris Power(University College London)Ruth J. F. Loos(Addenbrooke's Hospital)Thomas J. Wang(Massachusetts General Hospital)Marjo‐Riitta Järvelin(Imperial College London)John C. Whittaker(GlaxoSmithKline (United Kingdom))Aroon D. Hingorani(University College London)Elina Hyppönen✉(University College London)

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Abstract

On the basis of a bi-directional genetic approach that limits confounding, our study suggests that a higher BMI leads to lower 25(OH)D, while any effects of lower 25(OH)D increasing BMI are likely to be small. Population level interventions to reduce BMI are expected to decrease the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D Research Studies Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet Nutrition, Genetics, and DiseaseMendelian randomizationBody mass indexMedicineObesitySingle-nucleotide polymorphismVitamin D and neurologyInternal medicineAnthropometryAlleleClinical nutrition