Association of serum vitamin C levels with Asthma in adults: results of NHANES 2003-2006 and mendelian randomization study

The protective effect of vitamin C as an antioxidant against asthma in adults remains controversial. This study used an observational study and Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the association between adult asthma and serum vitamin C levels. Using information from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2006, we carried out an observational study. A multivariate logistic regression model was employed to examine the connection between adult asthma and serum vitamin C levels. We used the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method of MR analysis as the primary method to analyze the causal effect of serum vitamin C levels on asthma in adults. A total of 8,504 participants were included in the observational study, including 639 in the asthma group and 7,865 in the non-asthma group. Before sample weighting, serum vitamin C was associated with a reduced risk of asthma in adults (OR = 0.798, 95% CI: 0.673-0.945, P = 0.009). After sample weighting, serum vitamin C was not associated with adult asthma risk (OR = 0.829, 95% CI: 0.660 ~ 1.042, P = 0.104). MR analysis showed no causal relationship between serum vitamin C and adult asthma in either the UK Biobank (OR = 0.957, 95% CI: 0.871 ~ 1.053, P = 0.370) or FinnGen (OR = 0.973, 95% CI: 0.824 ~ 1.149, P = 0.750) cohorts. Our study did not support a causal association between serum vitamin C levels and adult asthma risk. The relationship between serum vitamin C and adult asthma requires further research.