ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2022
Genetic effects of iron levels on liver injury and risk of liver diseases: A two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis.
Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Unravelling genetic susceptibility and causal factors in liver health using MRI quantification of inflammation, fat and iron in the liver.Human genomics · 2026Article
- Bidirectional association between zinc and liver cirrhosis: evidence from mendelian randomization and clinical validation.Frontiers in genetics · 2026Article
- Hemochromatosis and Hepatic Complications: A Comprehensive Review of Molecular Mechanisms, Diagnostics, and Emerging Therapeutics.Current molecular medicine · 2026Review
- Iron Homeostasis as a Mediator Linking Central Obesity with MASLD and Primary Liver Cancer: A Two-Step Mendelian Randomization Study.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- Exploring the Role of Metabolic Hyperferritinaemia (MHF) in Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD) and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC).Cancers · 2025Review
- Article
- Genetically determined circulating micronutrients and the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Associations of genetically predicted iron status with 24 gastrointestinal diseases and gut microbiota: a Mendelian randomization study.Frontiers in genetics · 2024Article
- Using Mendelian Randomization to Study the Role of Iron in Health and Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Contribution of Aflatoxin BInternational journal of general medicine · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Background and aims: Although iron homeostasis has been associated with liver function in many observational studies, the causality in this relationship remains unclear. By using Mendelian Randomization analyses, we aimed to evaluate the genetic effects of increased systemic iron levels on the risk of liver injury and various liver diseases. Moreover, in light of the sex-dependent iron regulation in human beings, we further estimated the sex-specific effect of iron levels in liver diseases. Methods: Independent single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with systemic iron status (including four indicators) at the genome-wide significance level from the Genetics of Iron Status (GIS) Consortium were selected as instrumental variables. Summary data for six liver function biomarkers and five liver diseases were obtained from the UK Biobank, the Estonian Biobank, the eMERGE network, and FinnGen consortium. Mendelian Randomization assessment of the effect of iron on liver function and liver diseases was conducted. Results: Genetically predicted iron levels were positively and significantly associated with an increased risk of different dimensions of liver injury. Furthermore, increased iron status posed hazardous effects on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, and liver fibrosis/cirrhosis. Sex-stratified analyses indicated that the hepatoxic role of iron might exist in NAFLD and liver fibrosis/cirrhosis development among men. No significantly causal relationship was found between iron status and viral hepatitis. Conclusion: Our study adds to current knowledge on the genetic role of iron in the risk of liver injury and related liver diseases, which provides clinical and public health implications for liver disease prevention as iron status can be modified.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.