While past studies hinted at a connection between cheese consumption and various diseases, proving causality has been tricky.
Cheese intake may have a protective effect against GERD and Barrett's esophagus, with body mass index serving as a potential mediator.
While past studies hinted at a connection between cheese consumption and various diseases, proving causality has been tricky. This study explored whether cheese ingestion is causally associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett's esophagus using Mendelian randomization (MR) to mimic randomized trial groups.
A multivariable MR analysis was performed using data from published GERD and Barrett's esophagus datasets. Both univariable and multivariable MR models were used to uncover the causal link between genetically predicted cheese consumption and esophageal diseases, along with a network MR analysis to reveal possible intermediate factors.
Genetically predicted cheese intake showed a protective effect for GERD (OR = 0.356) and Barrett's esophagus (OR = 0.223). These effects remained stable after adjusting for potential confounders, including smoking (GERD: OR = 0.440; Barrett's esophagus: OR = 0.263) and body mass index [BMI] (GERD: OR = 0.515; Barrett's esophagus: OR = 0.402). BMI mediated 28.10% of the causal effect on GERD and 27.50% on Barrett's esophagus.
This study provided causal evidence supporting the protective role of cheese intake against GERD and Barrett's esophagus. BMI was identified as a key mediator, highlighting the potential benefit of combining dietary interventions with weight management in preventing esophageal diseases.
European Journal of Nutrition
Causal relationship between cheese intake and risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease and Barrett's esophagus: findings from multivariable mendelian randomization and mediation analysis
Jianfeng Zhou et al.
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