Mendelian randomization analysis to characterize causal association between coronary artery disease and COVID-19

Observational studies have suggested that having coronary artery disease increases the risk of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) susceptibility and severity, but it remains unclear if this association is causal. Inferring causation is critical to facilitate the development of appropriate policies and/or individual decisions to reduce the incidence and burden of COVID-19. We applied Two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis and found that genetically predicted CAD was significantly associated with higher risk of COVID-19: the odds ratio was 1.29 (95% confidence interval 1.11 to 1.49; P = 0.001) per unit higher log odds of having CAD.