Oily fish and raw vegetable consumption can decrease the risk of AQP4-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: a Mendelian-randomization study

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 9372
• Main Authors: Wang, Shengnan, Pan, Lin, Wu, Rui, Shao, Yanqing, Xue, Mengru, Zhu, Hao, Min, Wanwan, Zheng, Xiangyu, Liang, Yekun, Zhu, Mingqin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 09.06.2023; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Aquaporin 4; Aquaporins; Biobanks; Central nervous system; Coffee; Diet; Disease prevention; Food; Food intake; Genome-wide association studies; Genomes; Inflammation; Inflammatory diseases; Microbiota; Nervous system; Neuromyelitis; Nutrition research; Pleiotropy; Questionnaires; Risk factors; Risk reduction; Sensitivity analysis; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Vegetables
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36372-1

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) are severe inflammatory disorders of the central nervous system targeting aquaporin-4 (AQP4). The risk factors for NMOSD remain to be determined, though they may be related to diet and nutrition. This study aimed to explore the possibility of a causal relationship between specific food intake and AQP4-positive NMOSD risk. The study followed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) design. Genetic instruments and self-reported information on the intake of 29 types of food were obtained from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 445,779 UK Biobank participants. A total of 132 individuals with AQP4-positive NMOSD and 784 controls from this GWAS were included in our study. The associations were evaluated using inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis, weighted-median analysis, and MR-Egger regression. A high consumption of oily fish and raw vegetables was associated with a decreased risk of AQP4-positive NMOSD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.78 × 10 , 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.60 × 10 -1.22 × 10 , p = 0.001; OR = 5.28 × 10 , 95% CI = 4.67 × 10 -0.598, p = 0.041, respectively). The results were consistent in the sensitivity analyses, and no evidence of directional pleiotropy was observed. Our study provides useful implications for the development of AQP4-positive NMOSD prevention strategies. Further research is needed to determine the exact causal relationship and mechanisms underlying the association between specific food intake and AQP4-positive NMOSD.