Casual association between plasma CoQ10 levels and stroke: a mendelian randomization study

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the causal relationship between plasma CoQ10 levels and stroke, as well as some cardiovascular diseases, using Mendelian randomization methods. Methods: Causal links were investigated through two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. We identified genetic variants that showed significant associations with plasma CoQ10 levels. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was employed to estimate the effects. Additionally, sensitivity analysis was used to assess heterogeneity or pleiotropy. Results: Our MR analysis revealed that genetically predicted plasma CoQ10 levels was inversely associated with of any stroke (AS, OR = 0.803, 95% CI: 0.659–0.978, p =0.029), any ischemic stroke (AIS, OR = 0.792, 95% CI 0.651–0.964, p = 0.020) and small vessel stroke (SVS, OR = 0.512, 95% CI 0.294-0.892, p = 0.018). However, no associations were observed between genetically predicted plasma CoQ10 and large artery stroke (LAS), cardioembolic stroke (CES), intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), atrial fibrillation (AF), myocardial infarction (MI) or heart failure (HF). Conclusion: Our MR analysis implies a protective effect between higher plasma CoQ10 levels and AS, AIS or SVS. The results and the underlying pathways or mechanisms between plasma CoQ10 levels and stroke needs further investigation.