Education and metabolic syndrome: a Mendelian randomization study

Dong Liu; Zi-Xiang Xu; Xue-Lian Liu; Hai-Ling Yang; Ling-Ling Wang; Yan Li

doi:10.3389/fnut.2024.1477537

Education and metabolic syndrome: a Mendelian randomization study

Front Nutr. 2024 Oct 31:11:1477537. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1477537. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Dong Liu¹, Zi-Xiang Xu², Xue-Lian Liu³, Hai-Ling Yang¹, Ling-Ling Wang⁴, Yan Li¹

Affiliations

¹ Emergency Department, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
² Pathology Department, Jilin Cancer Hospital, Changchun, China.
³ Hematology Department, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
⁴ Stroke Center, Department of Neurology, The Affiliated Hospital of Beihua University, Changchun, China.

Abstract

Aims: The metabolic syndrome (MetS), a collection of conditions that heighten the risk of disease development and impose economic burdens on patients. However, the causal relationship between education and MetS was uncertain. In this study, the Mendelian randomization (MR) method was employed to elucidate the potential causal link between education and the MetS and its components.

Method: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with education, MetS, and its components were sourced from a public database, with the inverse variance-weighted (IVW) method utilized for analysis.

Results: Education demonstrated a significant negative correlation with the risk of MetS (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.48-0.63, p = 2.18E-51), waist circumference(OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.76-0.83, p = 4.98E-33), hypertension (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.95-0.97; p = 4.54E-10), Fasting blood glucose (OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.91-0.97, p = 7.58E-6) and triglycerides (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.79-0.87, p = 7.87E-18) while showing a positive association with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.18-1.25, p = 1.45E-31).

Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that education can decrease the incidence of MetS.

Keywords: education; fasting blood glucose; high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; hypertension; metabolic syndrome; triglycerides; waist circumference.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Jilin Provincial Department of Education (JJKH20210062KJ belonging to LW) the Health Commission of Jilin Province (2024A026 belonging to X-lL).