Background Early (grade 1) cardiac left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (G1DD) increases the risk for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and may improve with aggressive risk factor modification. Type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and coronary heart disease are associated with increased incidence of diastolic dysfunction. The genetic drivers of G1DD are not defined. Methods and Results We curated genotyped European ancestry G1DD cases (n=668) and controls with normal diastolic function (n=1772) from Vanderbilt's biobank. G1DD status was explored through (1) an additive model genome-wide association study, (2) shared polygenic risk through logistic regression, and (3) instrumental variable analysis using 2-sample Mendelian randomization (the inverse-variance weighted method, Mendelian randomization-Egger, and median) to determine potential modifiable risk factors. There were no common single nucleotide polymorphisms significantly associated with G1DD status. A polygenic risk score for BMI was significantly associated with increased G1DD risk (odds ratio [OR], 1.20 for 1-SD increase in BMI [95% CI, 1.08-1.32]; P=0.0003). The association was confirmed by the inverse-variance weighted method (OR, 1.89 [95% CI, 1.37-2.61]). Among the candidate mediators for BMI, only fasting glucose was significantly associated with G1DD status by the inverse-variance weighted method (OR, 4.14 for 1-SD increase in fasting glucose [95% CI, 1.55-11.02]; P=0.005). Multivariable Mendelian randomization showed a modest attenuation of the BMI association (OR, 1.84 [95% CI, 1.35-2.52]) when adjusting for fasting glucose. Conclusions These data suggest that a genetic predisposition to elevated BMI increases the risk for G1DD. Part of this effect may be mediated through altered glucose homeostasis.
Keywords: Mendelian randomization; body mass index; diastolic dysfunction; fasting glucose; genetic epidemiology.