Genetic vitamin K1 levels linked to heart disease

(HealthDay)—Genetically determined vitamin K₁ is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction (MI), according to a study published online April 8 in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

C. Mary Schooling, Ph.D., from the CUNY School of Public Health in New York City, assessed the risk of CAD/MI according to genetically determined vitamin K₁ levels. She used separate sample instrumental variable analysis with genetic instruments to obtain an unconfounded estimate of the correlation of vitamin K₁ with CAD/MI using CARDIoGRAMplusC4D (64,374 cases and 130,681 controls) and with lipids using Global Lipids Genetics Consortium Results (196,475 individuals).

Schooling observed a positive association for vitamin K₁ single nucleotide polymorphisms with CAD/MI (odds ratio, 1.17 per unit [nmol/L] of natural log-transformed genetically predicted vitamin K₁), but not with inverse normal transformed low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, or triglycerides. The association for CAD/MI was stronger considering only rs2108622, which is functionally relevant to vitamin K₁ (odds ratio, 1.21).

"Vitamin K may cause CAD/MI, whether vitamin K or other determinants of coagulants could be relevant to primary prevention might bear consideration," Schooling writes.

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