The association between the basal metabolic rate and cardiovascular disease: A two‐sample Mendelian randomization study

Background Mendelian randomization analysis was applied to elucidate the causal relationship between the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and common cardiovascular diseases. Method We choose BMR as exposure. BMR is the metabolic rate of the body when the basic physiological activities (blood circulation, breathing and constant body temperature) are maintained. The normal BMR is 1507 kcal/day for men and 1276 kcal/day for women. The dataset was drawn from the public GWAS dataset (GWAS ID: ukb‐a‐268), collected and analysed by UK biobank, containing 331,307 European males and females. SNPs independently and strongly associated with BMR were used as instrumental variables in the inverse variance weighted analysis. MR‐Egger, weighted median, MR pleiotropy residual sum, and outlier methods were also performed, and the sensitivity was evaluated using horizontal pleiotropy and heterogeneity analyses to ensure the stability of the results. Results An increased BMR is associated with a higher risk of cardiomyopathy (odds ratio [OR] = 2.00, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.57–2.54, p = 1.87 × 10 −8 ), heart failure (OR = 1.39, 95% CI, 1.27–2.51, p = 8.1 × 10 −13 ), and valvular heart disease (OR = 1.18, 95% CI, 1.10–1.27, p = .00001). However, there was no clear association between BMR and the subtypes of other cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary disease (OR = .96, 95% CI, .85–1.08, p = .48651) and atrial fibrillation (AF) (OR = 1.85, 95% CI, 1.70–2.02, p = 6.28 × 10 −44 ). Conclusion Our study reveals a possible causal effect of BMR on the risk of cardiomyopathy, heart failure and valvular disease, but not for coronary disease and AF.