Journal Article
Migraine, chronic kidney disease and kidney function: observational and genetic analyses
Wenqiang Zhang; Li Zhang; Luo Yang; Chenghan Xiao; Xueyao Wu; Peijing Yan; Huijie Cui; Chao Yang; Jingwei Zhu; Xuan Wu; Mingshuang Tang; Yutong Wang; Lin Chen; Yunjie Liu; Yanqiu Zou; Ling Zhang; Chunxia Yang; Yuqin Yao; Jiayuan Li; Zhenmi Liu; Ben Zhang; Xia Jiang; Verneri Anttila; Ville Artto; Andrea C. Belin; Anna Bjornsdottir; Gyda Bjornsdottir; Dorret I. Boomsma; Sigrid Børte; Mona A. Chalmer; Daniel I. Chasman; Bru Cormand; Ester Cuenca-Leon; George Davey-Smith; Irene de Boer; Martin Dichgans; Tonu Esko; Tobias Freilinger; Padhraig Gormley; Lyn R. Griffiths; Eija Hämäläinen; Thomas F. Hansen; Aster V. E. Harder; Heidi Hautakangas; Marjo Hiekkala; Maria G. Hrafnsdottir; M. Arfan Ikram; Marjo-Riitta Järvelin; Risto Kajanne; Mikko Kallela; Jaakko Kaprio; Mari Kaunisto; Lisette J. A. Kogelman; Espen S. Kristoffersen; Christian Kubisch; Mitja Kurki; Tobias Kurth; Lenore Launer; Terho Lehtimäki; Davor Lessel; Lannie Ligthart; Sigurdur H. Magnusson; Rainer Malik; Bertram Müller-Myhsok; Carrie Northover; Dale R. Nyholt; Jes Olesen; Aarno Palotie; Priit Palta; Linda M. Pedersen; Nancy Pedersen; Matti Pirinen; Danielle Posthuma; Patricia Pozo-Rosich; Alice Pressman; Olli Raitakari; Caroline Ran; Gudrun R. Sigurdardottir; Hreinn Stefansson; Kari Stefansson; Olafur A. Sveinsson; Gisela M. Terwindt; Thorgeir E. Thorgeirsson; Arn M. J. M. van den Maagdenberg; Cornelia van Duijn; Maija Wessman; Bendik S. Winsvold; John-Anker Zwart
Human Genetics · Vol. 142, Issue 8 · pp. 1185-1200 · 2023
Abstract
Epidemiological studies demonstrate an association between migraine and chronic kidney disease (CKD), while the genetic basis underlying the phenotypic association has not been investigated. We aimed to help avoid unnecessary interventions in individuals with migraine through the investigation of phenotypic and genetic relationships underlying migraine, CKD, and kidney function. We first evaluated phenotypic associations using observational data from UK Biobank ( N = 255,896). We then investigated genetic relationships leveraging genomic data in European ancestry for migraine ( N case / N control = 48,975/540,381), CKD ( N case / N control = 41,395/439,303), and two traits of kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR, N = 567,460] and urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio [UACR, N = 547,361]). Observational analyses suggested no significant association of migraine with the risk of CKD (HR = 1.13, 95% CI = 0.85–1.50). While we did not find any global genetic correlation in general, we identified four specific genomic regions showing significant for migraine with eGFR. Cross-trait meta-analysis identified one candidate causal variant (rs1047891) underlying migraine, CKD, and kidney function. Transcriptome-wide association study detected 28 shared expression–trait associations between migraine and kidney function. Mendelian randomization analysis suggested no causal effect of migraine on CKD (OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.98–1.09; P = 0.28). Despite a putative causal effect of migraine on an increased level of UACR (log-scale-beta = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.01–0.04; P = 1.92 × 10 −3 ), it attenuated to null when accounting for both correlated and uncorrelated pleiotropy. Our work does not find evidence supporting a causal association between migraine and CKD. However, our study highlights significant biological pleiotropy between migraine and kidney function. The value of a migraine prophylactic treatment for reducing future CKD in people with migraine is likely limited.