Causal associations between diet and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: A Mendelian randomization analysis

Abstract Background Numerous observational studies have demonstrated that specific dietary factors influence aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). However, whether a causal relationship exists between diet and aSAH remains unknown. Methods We used a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) method to characterise the causal associations between 26 different diets extracted from the UK Biobank dataset and aSAH risk. The aSAH data were obtained from a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from the International Stroke Genetics Union. The inverse variance-weighted method, weighted median, and MR-Egger methods were employed for the MR analyses. A sensitivity analysis was performed to elucidate the heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy. Results Our results showed that moderate consumption of red wine was associated with a lower risk of aSAH (odds ratio [OR] = 0.136; 95% confidence interval [CI] (0.052–0.353), p < 0.001), with no heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy detected. Suggestive correlations were detected between two dietary intakes and aSAH (beef, OR = 6.063, 95% CI (1.203–30.569), p = 0.029; mutton, OR = 4.375, 95% CI (1.273–15.032), p = 0.019). No significant associations were detected between other diets and aSAH. Conclusions These findings provide strong genetic evidence for a causal relationship between red wine consumption and aSAH risk. Moderate consumption of red wine was linked to a reduced risk of aSAH. Further larger genome-wide association studies or randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm these findings.