ArticleKidney international2020
A bidirectional Mendelian randomization study supports causal effects of kidney function on blood pressure.
Article in Kidney international, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 61 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
61 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 137 citations in OpenAlex.
- Unraveling the connection and pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus and thyroid cancer: integrative meta-analysis, Mendelian randomization, and transcriptomic insights.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of epigenetic age acceleration on kidney function: a Mendelian randomization study.Clinical epigenetics · 2023Pooled it
- Using Mendelian randomization study to assess the renal effects of antihypertensive drugs.BMC medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Resistant Hypertension Variants Link to Hyperaldosteronism and Potassium Levels.Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) · 2026Article
- Combined effects of diet and genetic predisposition on kidney function outcomes.Clinical kidney journal · 2026Article
- Genetically determined causality between immune cells and anxiety disorders: A Mendelian randomization study.Medicine · 2026Article
- Investigating the genetic effects of metformin-related targets on IgA nephropathy using Mendelian randomization.Renal failure · 2025Article
- Educational attainment, body mass index, and smoking as mediators in kidney disease risk: a two-step Mendelian randomization study.Renal failure · 2025Article
- Dietary patterns, polygenic risk, and kidney cancer incidence: a UK Biobank cohort study.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Blood Pressure and Mortality in Mexico City: A Mendelian Randomization Study.Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979) · 2025Article
- A multi-ethnic polygenic risk score for chronic kidney disease is associated with increased risk of hypertension in African American individuals.BMC nephrology · 2025Article
- Mendelian randomization analysis reveals causal roles of inflammatory cytokines in thyroid cancer pathogenesis.Discover oncology · 2025Article
- Difference between estimated glomerular filtration rate based on cystatin c versus creatinine and risk of hypertension: a prospective cohort study.European journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Association Between Cannabis Use and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Two-sample Mendelian Randomization Study.Alpha psychiatry · 2025Article
- Renal-Cardiac Crosstalk in the Pathogenesis and Progression of Heart Failure.Circulation research · 2025Review
- Distinct pathway-based effects of blood pressure and body mass index on cardiovascular traits: comparison of novel Mendelian randomization approaches.Genome medicine · 2025Article
- Preoperative predictive indicators for resolution of hypertension in patients with unilateral primary aldosteronism: development of a nomogram model.Langenbeck's archives of surgery · 2025Article
- Investigating the dual causative pathways linking immune cells and venous thromboembolism via Mendelian randomization analysis.Thrombosis journal · 2025Article
- Mendelian Randomization and Transcriptome Data Analysis Reveal Bidirectional Causal Relationships and Mechanisms between Type 2 Diabetes and Gastric Cancer.Current medicinal chemistry · 2025Article
1 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Blood pressure and kidney function have a bidirectional relation. Hypertension has long been considered as a risk factor for kidney function decline. However, whether intensive blood pressure control could promote kidney health has been uncertain. The kidney is known to have a major role in affecting blood pressure through sodium extraction and regulating electrolyte balance. This bidirectional relation makes causal inference between these two traits difficult. Therefore, to examine the causal relations between these two traits, we performed two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses using summary statistics of large-scale genome-wide association studies. We selected genetic instruments more likely to be specific for kidney function using meta-analyses of complementary kidney function biomarkers (glomerular filtration rate estimated from serum creatinine [eGFRcr], and blood urea nitrogen from the CKDGen Consortium). Systolic and diastolic blood pressure summary statistics were from the International Consortium for Blood Pressure and UK Biobank. Significant evidence supported the causal effects of higher kidney function on lower blood pressure. Based on the mode-based Mendelian randomization method, the effect estimates for one standard deviation (SD) higher in log-transformed eGFRcr was -0.17 SD unit (95 % confidence interval: -0.09 to -0.24) in systolic blood pressure and -0.15 SD unit (95% confidence interval: -0.07 to -0.22) in diastolic blood pressure. In contrast, the causal effects of blood pressure on kidney function were not statistically significant. Thus, our results support causal effects of higher kidney function on lower blood pressure and suggest preventing kidney function decline can reduce the public health burden of hypertension.
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