Causal Association Between Tea Consumption and Kidney Function: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Yangchang Zhang; Yang Xiong; Shisi Shen; Jialu Yang; Wei Wang; Tingting Wu; Li Chen; Qiuhua Yu; Hangjia Zuo; Xu Wang; Xun Lei

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.801591

Causal Association Between Tea Consumption and Kidney Function: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Front Nutr. 2022 Mar 29:9:801591. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.801591. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yangchang Zhang^{1

2

3

4}, Yang Xiong⁵, Shisi Shen⁶, Jialu Yang^{1

2

3}, Wei Wang^{1

2

3}, Tingting Wu⁷, Li Chen⁸, Qiuhua Yu⁹, Hangjia Zuo⁶, Xu Wang^{1

2

3}, Xun Lei^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health and Management, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
² Research Center for Medicine and Social Development, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
³ The Innovation Center for Social Risk Governance in Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁴ Research Center for Public Health Security, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁵ The West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁶ The First School of Clinical Medicine, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
⁷ Chongqing Collaborative Innovation Center for Functional Food, Chongqing University of Education, Chongqing, China.
⁸ School of Public Health & Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
⁹ Department of Critical Care Medicine, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Background: Causal research concerning the consumption of tea and the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is limited. This study identified the potential causal effects of tea intake on CKD, the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and albuminuria.

Methods: Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) from UK Biobank were able to identify single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with an extra cup of tea each day. The summary statistics for the kidney function from the CKDGen consortium include 11,765 participants (12,385 cases of CKD) and 54,116 participants for the urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio who were mostly of European descent. A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was performed to test the relationship between the selected SNPs and the risk of CKD.

Results: A total of 2,672 SNPs associated with tea consumption (p < 5 × 10^-8) were found, 45 of which were independent and usable in CKDGen. Drinking more cups of tea per day indicates a protective effect for CKD G3-G5 [odds ratio (OR) = 0.803; p = 0.004] and increases eGFR (β = 0.019 log ml/min/1.73 m² per cup per day; p = 2.21 × 10^-5). Excluding two SNPs responsible for directional heterogeneity (Cochran Q p = 0.02), a high consumption of tea was also negatively correlated with a lower risk of albuminuria (OR = 0.758; p = 0.002).

Conclusion: From the perspective of genes, causal relationships exist between daily extra cup of tea and the reduced risk of CKD and albuminuria and increased eGFR.

Keywords: Mendelian randomization; SNPs; albuminuria; chronic kidney disease (CKD); tea consumption.

Abstract

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