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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1373179
This article is part of the Research Topic Micronutrients, Immunity and Infection View all 11 articles

Circulating micronutrient levels and respiratory infection susceptibility and severity: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis

Provisionally accepted
Zhengxiao Wei Zhengxiao Wei 1Qingqing Xiong Qingqing Xiong 2*Li Liang Li Liang 3*Zhangjun Wu Zhangjun Wu 4*Zhu Chen Zhu Chen 2*
  • 1 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu,, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • 2 Department of Scientific Research and Teaching, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • 3 Department of Tuberculosis, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu,, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
  • 4 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Limited and inconclusive data from observational studies and randomized controlled trials exist on the levels of circulating micronutrients in the blood and their association with respiratory infections. Methods: A Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was conducted to assess the impact of 12 micronutrients on the risk of three types of infections [upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI), and pneumonia] and their 14 subtypes. This study utilized a bidirectional MR approach to evaluate causal relationships and included a range of sensitivity analyses and multivariable MR to address potential heterogeneity and pleiotropy. The threshold for statistical significance was set at p < 1.39×10-3. Results: Meta-analysis revealed that higher levels of circulating copper were significantly associated with a reduced risk of URTI (odds ratio (OR) = 0.926, 95% CI: 0.890 to 0.964, p = 0.000195). Additionally, copper demonstrated a suggestive association with a reduced risk of LRTI (p = 0.0196), and Vitamin B6 was nominally associated with a reduced risk of pneumonia (p = 0.048). Subtype analyses further indicated several suggestive associations: copper reduces the risk of acute pharyngitis (p = 0.029), vitamin C increases the risk of critical care admissions for pneumonia (p = 0.032) and LRTI (p = 0.021), and folate reduces the risk of viral pneumonia (p = 0.042). No significant connections were observed for other micronutrients. Conclusions: We observed a genetically predicted potential protective effect of copper in susceptibility to upper respiratory infections. This provides new insights for further research into the role of micronutrients in the prevention and treatment of infection.

    Keywords: Micronutrients, Mendelian randomization, upper respiratory tract infection, susceptibility, Copper

    Received: 19 Jan 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wei, Xiong, Liang, Wu and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Qingqing Xiong, Department of Scientific Research and Teaching, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
    Li Liang, Department of Tuberculosis, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu,, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
    Zhangjun Wu, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
    Zhu Chen, Department of Scientific Research and Teaching, Public Health Clinical Center of Chengdu, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.