ArticlePLoS genetics2022
Using genetic variation to disentangle the complex relationship between food intake and health outcomes.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Genome-wide association study provides insights into the genetic basis of Lewy body dementia.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Oily fish and raw vegetable consumption can decrease the risk of AQP4-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders: a Mendelian-randomization study.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Observational and genetic analyses clarify the relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus and gallstone disease.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023Pooled it
- Refining Genetic Instruments for Dietary Intake Mendelian Randomization Using Phenome-Wide Association Studies.Genetic epidemiology · 2026Article
- Comparing genome-wide significant and chemosensory variants as instruments for dietary patterns in Mendelian randomization.International journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Evidence for overlapping genetic architecture between lifestyle factors and severe mental disorders with different patterns across diagnoses.EBioMedicine · 2026Article
- A biologically informed framework for instrument selection in dietary Mendelian randomization using chemosensory genetics.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Uncovering Novel Atrial Fibrillation Genetics Through Pleiotropic Overlap with Life's Essential 8.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Genetic predispositions for anxiety disorders and major depressive disorder affect current dietary habits in older patients with lifestyle-related diseases.The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Coffee Consumption and Risk of Diabetic Angiopathy: Mediating Role of Gut Microbiota Revealed by Mendelian Randomization.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Association between genetically predicted dietary patterns and atrial fibrillation: a two sample Mendelian randomization study.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Genetics identifies obesity as a shared risk factor for co-occurring multiple long-term conditions.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Unraveling the genetic interplay and therapeutic potentials between major depressive disorder and metabolic syndrome: multi-ancestry and multi-trait genome-wide association analyses.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- High unprocessed beef intake (>100 g/d) linked to elevated triglyceride levels: evidence from cross-sectional and Mendelian randomization in Chinese and American adult populations.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Unravelling the causal link between gut microbiota and acne risk using a genetic approach.Skin health and disease · 2025Article
- Associations between dietary patterns and sarcopenia: insights from cross-sectional and Mendelian randomization analyses.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Influences of genetic factors for educational attainment and cognitive functions on current dietary consumption.iScience · 2025Article
- Article
- Novel Insights Into the Causal Association Between Dietary Factors and Risk of Urinary Calculus: A Multivariate and Two-Step Mendelian Randomization Analysis.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
21 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Diet is considered as one of the most important modifiable factors influencing human health, but efforts to identify foods or dietary patterns associated with health outcomes often suffer from biases, confounding, and reverse causation. Applying Mendelian randomization in this context may provide evidence to strengthen causality in nutrition research. To this end, we first identified 283 genetic markers associated with dietary intake in 445,779 UK Biobank participants. We then converted these associations into direct genetic effects on food exposures by adjusting them for effects mediated via other traits. The SNPs which did not show evidence of mediation were then used for MR, assessing the association between genetically predicted food choices and other risk factors, health outcomes. We show that using all associated SNPs without omitting those which show evidence of mediation, leads to biases in downstream analyses (genetic correlations, causal inference), similar to those present in observational studies. However, MR analyses using SNPs which have only a direct effect on the exposure on food exposures provided unequivocal evidence of causal associations between specific eating patterns and obesity, blood lipid status, and several other risk factors and health outcomes.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.