Key result
COVID-19 shares multiple genetic loci and positive genetic correlations with cardiovascular diseases including CAD.
Why the study?
Genetic loci jointly influencing COVID-19 and cardiovascular disorders remain largely unknown despite the known impact of cardiovascular comorbidities on COVID-19 outcomes.
Are there shared genetic loci and causal relationships between COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases?
Meta-Analysis
Are there shared genetic loci and causal relationships between COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases?
Effect estimate: Rg = 0.4075
p-value: p=0.0031
This study identifies shared genetic architecture and potential causal links between COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases, providing insight into the molecular mechanisms of their comorbidity.
Shared genetic correlations may refine COVID-19 risk stratification in CVD patients; leaves open causal mechanisms and targeted interventions.
People with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have different mortality or severity, and this clinical outcome is thought to be mainly attributed to comorbid cardiovascular diseases. However, genetic loci jointly influencing COVID-19 and cardiovascular disorders remain largely unknown. To identify shared genetic loci between COVID-19 and cardiac traits, we conducted a genome-wide cross-trait meta-analysis. Firstly, from eight cardiovascular disorders, we found positive genetic correlations between COVID-19 and coronary artery disease (CAD, R g = 0.4075, P = 0.0031), type 2 diabetes (T2D, R g = 0.2320, P = 0.0043), obesity (OBE, R g = 0.3451, P = 0.0061), as well as hypertension (HTN, R g = 0.233, P = 0.0026). Secondly, we detected 10 shared genetic loci between COVID-19 and CAD, 3 loci between COVID-19 and T2D, 5 loci between COVID-19 and OBE, and 21 loci between COVID-19 and HTN, respectively. These shared genetic loci were enriched in signaling pathways and secretion pathways. In addition, Mendelian randomization analysis revealed significant causal effect of COVID-19 on CAD, OBE and HTN. Our results have revealed the genetic architecture shared by COVID-19 and CVD, and will help to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the associations between COVID-19 and cardiac traits.
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Guo et al. (2022) conducted a meta-analysis in COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases. Genetic variants associated with cardiovascular diseases vs. Reference alleles was evaluated on Genetic correlation between COVID-19 and coronary artery disease (Rg = 0.4075, p=0.0031). A genome-wide cross-trait meta-analysis identified significant positive genetic correlations and multiple shared genetic loci between COVID-19 and cardiovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease (Rg = 0.4075).
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