Author information

¹Department of Gastroenterology, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing100015, People's Republic of China.

²Department of Gastroenterology, Peking University Ditan Teaching Hospital, Beijing100015, People's Republic of China.

³National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Tracking and Forecasting for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing100015, People's Republic of China.

⁴Beijing Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing100015, People's Republic of China.

⁵Beijing Institute of Infectious Diseases, Beijing100015, People's Republic of China.

⁶National Center for Infectious Diseases, Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing100015, People's Republic of China.

^#Contributed equally.

Abstract

The associations between obesity and liver diseases are complex and diverse. To explore the causal relationships between obesity and liver diseases, we applied two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) and multivariable MR analysis. The data of exposures (BMI and WHRadjBMI) and outcomes (liver diseases and liver function biomarker) were obtained from the open genome-wide association study database. A two-sample MR study revealed that the genetically predicted BMI and WHRadjBMI were associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and autoimmune hepatitis. Obesity was not associated with primary biliary cholangitis, liver failure, liver cell carcinoma, viral hepatitis and secondary malignant neoplasm of liver. A higher WHRadjBMI was associated with higher levels of biomarkers of lipid accumulation and metabolic disorders. These findings indicated independent causal roles of obesity in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and impaired liver metabolic function rather than in viral or autoimmune liver disease.