Genetically Regulated Bilirubin and Risk of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

ABSTRACT: Mildly elevated serum bilirubin levels were reported to be associated with decreased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Whether this is a causal relationship remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that genetically elevated plasma bilirubin levels are causally related to reduce risk of NAFLD. A total of 403 eligible participants were enrolled. NAFLD was determined by liver ultrasonography. The uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) gene variants (UGT1A1 ^*6 and UGT1A1 ^*28) were genotyped through sequencing. We applied a Mendelian randomization approach to assess the effects of genetically elevated bilirubin levels on NAFLD. NAFLD was diagnosed in 19% of participants in our study (NAFLD = 76; Non-NAFLD = 327). The

SUBMITTER: Luo L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6305545 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature