| 1. |
- Smith, Jennifer A, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nature (London). - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-4687 .- 0028-0836. ; 533:7604, s. 539-542
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends our earlier discovery sample of 101,069 individuals to 293,723 individuals, and a replication study in an independent sample of 111,349 individuals from the UK Biobank. We identify 74 genome-wide significant loci associated with the number of years of schooling completed. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with educational attainment are disproportionately found in genomic regions regulating gene expression in the fetal brain. Candidate genes are preferentially expressed in neural tissue, especially during the prenatal period, and enriched for biological pathways involved in neural development. Our findings demonstrate that, even for a behavioural phenotype that is mostly environmentally determined, a well-powered GWAS identifies replicable associated genetic variants that suggest biologically relevant pathways. Because educational attainment is measured in large numbers of individuals, it will continue to be useful as a proxy phenotype in efforts to characterize the genetic influences of related phenotypes, including cognition and neuropsychiatric diseases.
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| 2. |
- Djureinovic, Tatjana, et al.
(författare)
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The CHEK2 1100delC variant in Swedish colorectal cancer
- 2006
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Ingår i: Anticancer Research. - 0250-7005 .- 1791-7530. ; 26:6C, s. 4885-4888
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The cell cycle checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) 1100delC variant has recently been identified at high frequency in families with both breast and colorectal cancer, suggesting the possible role of this variant in colorectal cancer predisposition. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To evaluate the role of CHEK2 ll00delC among Swedish colorectal cancer patients, the variant frequency was determined in 174 selected familial cases, 644 unselected cases and 760 controls, as well as in l8 families used in the genome-wide linkage analysis, where weak linkage was seen for the region harboring the CHEK2 gene. RESULTS: CHEK2 l100delC was found in 1.15% of familial and in 0.93% of unselected cases, compared to 0.66% of controls, showing no significant difference between groups. One out of 45 familial cases with a family history of breast cancer was shown to be a carrier. The variant was not identified in the 18 families included in the linkage analysis. CONCLUSION: The CHEK2 1100delC was not significantly increased in Swedish colorectal cancer patients, however, in order to determine the role of the variant in colorectal cancer families with the history of breast cancer a larger sample size is needed.
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| 3. |
- Middeldorp, Christel M., et al.
(författare)
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The Early Growth Genetics (EGG) and EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortia : design, results and future prospects
- 2019
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Ingår i: European Journal of Epidemiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0393-2990 .- 1573-7284. ; 34:3, s. 279-300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The impact of many unfavorable childhood traits or diseases, such as low birth weight and mental disorders, is not limited to childhood and adolescence, as they are also associated with poor outcomes in adulthood, such as cardiovascular disease. Insight into the genetic etiology of childhood and adolescent traits and disorders may therefore provide new perspectives, not only on how to improve wellbeing during childhood, but also how to prevent later adverse outcomes. To achieve the sample sizes required for genetic research, the Early Growth Genetics (EGG) and EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortia were established. The majority of the participating cohorts are longitudinal population-based samples, but other cohorts with data on early childhood phenotypes are also involved. Cohorts often have a broad focus and collect(ed) data on various somatic and psychiatric traits as well as environmental factors. Genetic variants have been successfully identified for multiple traits, for example, birth weight, atopic dermatitis, childhood BMI, allergic sensitization, and pubertal growth. Furthermore, the results have shown that genetic factors also partly underlie the association with adult traits. As sample sizes are still increasing, it is expected that future analyses will identify additional variants. This, in combination with the development of innovative statistical methods, will provide detailed insight on the mechanisms underlying the transition from childhood to adult disorders. Both consortia welcome new collaborations. Policies and contact details are available from the corresponding authors of this manuscript and/or the consortium websites.
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| 4. |
- Haworth, Simon, et al.
(författare)
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Consortium-based genome-wide meta-analysis for childhood dental caries traits
- 2018
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Ingår i: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 27:17, s. 3113-3127
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prior studies suggest dental caries traits in children and adolescents are partially heritable, but there has been no large-scale consortium genome-wide association study (GWAS) to date. We therefore performed GWAS for caries in participants aged 2.5-18.0 years from nine contributing centres. Phenotype definitions were created for the presence or absence of treated or untreated caries, stratified by primary and permanent dentition. All studies tested for association between caries and genotype dosage and the results were combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Analysis included up to 19 003 individuals (7530 affected) for primary teeth and 13 353 individuals (5875 affected) for permanent teeth. Evidence for association with caries status was observed at rs1594318-C for primary teeth [intronic within ALLC, odds ratio (OR) 0.85, effect allele frequency (EAF) 0.60, P 4.13e-8] and rs7738851-A (intronic within NEDD9, OR 1.28, EAF 0.85, P 1.63e-8) for permanent teeth. Consortiumwide estimated heritability of caries was low [h2 of 1% (95% CI: 0%: 7%) and 6% (95% CI 0%: 13%) for primary and permanent dentitions, respectively] compared with corresponding within-study estimates [h2 of 28% (95% CI: 9%: 48%) and 17% (95% CI: 2%: 31%)] or previously published estimates. This study was designed to identify common genetic variants with modest effects which are consistent across different populations. We found few single variants associated with caries status under these assumptions. Phenotypic heterogeneity between cohorts and limited statistical power will have contributed; these findings could also reflect complexity not captured by our study design, such as genetic effects which are conditional on environmental exposure.
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| 5. |
- Kofod Vinding, Rebecca, et al.
(författare)
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Fish Oil Supplementation in Pregnancy Increases Gestational Age, Size for Gestational Age, and Birth Weight in Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 1541-6100 .- 0022-3166. ; 149:4, s. 628-634
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Randomized trials have reported that supplementation with n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) in pregnancy can prolong pregnancy and thereby increase birth weight. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the relations of n-3 LCPUFA supplementation in pregnancy with duration of pregnancy, birth weight, and size for gestational age (GA). METHODS: This was a double-blind randomized controlled trial conducted in 736 pregnant women and their offspring, from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood2010cohort. They were recruited between weeks 22 and 26 in pregnancyand randomly assigned to either of 2.4 g n-3 LCPUFA or control (olive oil) daily until 1 wk after birth. Exclusion criteria were endocrine, cardiovascular, or nephrologic disorders and vitamin D supplementation intake >600 IU/d. In this study we analyzed secondary outcomes, and further excluded twin pregnancies and extrauterine death. The primary outcome for the trial was persistent wheeze or asthma. RESULTS: The random assignment ran between 2008 and 2010. Six hundred and ninety-nine mother-infant pairs were included in the analysis. n-3 LCPUFA compared with control was associated with a 2-d prolongation of pregnancy [median (IQR): 282 (275-288) d compared with 280 (273-286) d, P = 0.02], a 97-g higher birth weight (mean ± SD: 3601 ± 534 g compared with 3504 ± 528 g, P = 0.02), and an increased size for GA according to the Norwegian population-based growth curves-Skjærven (mean ± SD: 49.9 ± 28.3 percentiles compared with 44.5 ± 27.6 percentiles, P = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Supplementing pregnant women with n-3 LCPUFAs during the third trimester is associated with prolonged gestation and increased size for GA, leading to a higher birth weight in this randomized controlled trial. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00798226.
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| 6. |
- Beaumont, Robin N, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association study of offspring birth weight in 86,577 women identifies five novel loci and highlights maternal genetic effects that are independent of fetal genetics.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Human molecular genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2083 .- 1460-2083 .- 0964-6906. ; 27:4, s. 742-756
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of birth weight have focused on fetal genetics, while relatively little is known about the role of maternal genetic variation. We aimed to identify maternal genetic variants associated with birth weight that could highlight potentially relevant maternal determinants of fetal growth. We meta-analysed data on up to 8.7 million SNPs in up to 86,577 women of European descent from the Early Growth Genetics (EGG) Consortium and the UK Biobank. We used structural equation modelling (SEM) and analyses of mother-child pairs to quantify the separate maternal and fetal genetic effects. Maternal SNPs at 10 loci (MTNR1B, HMGA2, SH2B3, KCNAB1, L3MBTL3, GCK, EBF1, TCF7L2, ACTL9, CYP3A7) were associated with offspring birth weight at P<5x10-8. In SEM analyses, at least 7 of the 10 associations were consistent with effects of the maternal genotype acting via the intrauterine environment, rather than via effects of shared alleles with the fetus. Variants, or correlated proxies, at many of the loci had been previously associated with adult traits, including fasting glucose (MTNR1B, GCK and TCF7L2) and sex hormone levels (CYP3A7), and one (EBF1) with gestational duration. The identified associations indicate genetic effects on maternal glucose, cytochrome P450 activity and gestational duration, and potentially on maternal blood pressure and immune function, are relevant for fetal growth. Further characterization of these associations in mechanistic and causal analyses will enhance understanding of the potentially modifiable maternal determinants of fetal growth, with the goal of reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with low and high birth weights.
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| 7. |
- Sevelsted, Astrid, et al.
(författare)
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Exposures to perfluoroalkyl substances and asthma phenotypes in childhood : an investigation of the COPSAC2010 cohort
- 2023
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Ingår i: EBioMedicine. - 2352-3964. ; 94
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances may affect offspring immune development and thereby increase risk of childhood asthma, but the underlying mechanisms and asthma phenotype affected by such exposure is unknown.Methods In the Danish COPSAC2010 cohort of 738 unselected pregnant women and their children plasma PFOS and PFOA concentrations were semi-quantified by untargeted metabolomics analyses and calibrated using a targeted pipeline in mothers (gestation week 24 and 1 week postpartum) and children (age 1/2 , 11/2 and 6 years). We examined associations between pregnancy and childhood PFOS and PFOA exposure and childhood infections, asthma, allergic sensitization, atopic dermatitis, and lung function measures, and studied potential mechanisms by integrating data on systemic low-grade inflammation (hs-CRP), functional immune responses, and epigenetics.Findings Higher maternal PFOS and PFOA exposure during pregnancy showed association with a non-atopic asthma phenotype by age 6, a protection against sensitization, and no association with atopic asthma or lung function, or atopic dermatitis. The effect was primarily driven by prenatal exposure. There was no association with infection proneness, low-grade inflammation, altered immune responses or epigenetic changes.Interpretations Prenatal exposure to PFOS and PFOA, but not childhood exposure, specifically increased the risk of low prevalent non-atopic asthma, whereas there was no effect on atopic asthma, lung function, or atopic dermatitis.
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| 8. |
- Felix, Janine F, et al.
(författare)
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Genome-wide association analysis identifies three new susceptibility loci for childhood body mass index.
- 2016
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Ingår i: Human molecular genetics. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1460-2083 .- 0964-6906. ; 25:2, s. 389-403
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A large number of genetic loci are associated with adult body mass index. However, the genetics of childhood body mass index are largely unknown. We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of childhood body mass index, using sex- and age-adjusted standard deviation scores. We included 35 668 children from 20 studies in the discovery phase and 11 873 children from 13 studies in the replication phase. In total, 15 loci reached genome-wide significance (P-value < 5 × 10(-8)) in the joint discovery and replication analysis, of which 12 are previously identified loci in or close to ADCY3, GNPDA2, TMEM18, SEC16B, FAIM2, FTO, TFAP2B, TNNI3K, MC4R, GPR61, LMX1B and OLFM4 associated with adult body mass index or childhood obesity. We identified three novel loci: rs13253111 near ELP3, rs8092503 near RAB27B and rs13387838 near ADAM23. Per additional risk allele, body mass index increased 0.04 Standard Deviation Score (SDS) [Standard Error (SE) 0.007], 0.05 SDS (SE 0.008) and 0.14 SDS (SE 0.025), for rs13253111, rs8092503 and rs13387838, respectively. A genetic risk score combining all 15 SNPs showed that each additional average risk allele was associated with a 0.073 SDS (SE 0.011, P-value = 3.12 × 10(-10)) increase in childhood body mass index in a population of 1955 children. This risk score explained 2% of the variance in childhood body mass index. This study highlights the shared genetic background between childhood and adult body mass index and adds three novel loci. These loci likely represent age-related differences in strength of the associations with body mass index.
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| 9. |
- Liu, Xueping, et al.
(författare)
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Variants in the fetal genome near pro-inflammatory cytokine genes on 2q13 associate with gestational duration.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 10:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The duration of pregnancy is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors. Here we report a fetal genome-wide association meta-analysis of gestational duration, and early preterm, preterm, and postterm birth in 84,689 infants. One locus on chromosome 2q13 is associated with gestational duration; the association is replicated in 9,291 additional infants (combined P = 3.96 × 10-14). Analysis of 15,588 mother-child pairs shows that the association is driven by fetal rather than maternal genotype. Functional experiments show that the lead SNP, rs7594852, alters the binding of the HIC1 transcriptional repressor. Genes at the locus include several interleukin 1 family members with roles in pro-inflammatory pathways that are central to the process of parturition. Further understanding of the underlying mechanisms will be of great public health importance, since giving birth either before or after the window of term gestation is associated with increased morbidity and mortality.
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| 10. |
- Pasanen, Anu, et al.
(författare)
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NKG2D gene variation and susceptibility to viral bronchiolitis in childhood.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Pediatric research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1530-0447 .- 0031-3998. ; 84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic factors associated with bronchiolitis are inadequately characterized. We therefore inspected a selected subpopulation of our previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) of bronchiolitis for overlap with known quantitative trait loci (QTLs) to identify susceptibility loci that potentially affect mRNA and protein levels.GWAS included a Finnish-Swedish case-control population (n = 187), matched for age and site. We integrated GWAS variants (p < 10-4) with QTL data. We subsequently verified allele-specific expression of identified QTLs by flow cytometry. Association of the resulting candidate loci with bronchiolitis was tested in three additional cohorts from Finland and Denmark (n = 1201).Bronchiolitis-susceptibility variant rs10772271 resided within QTLs previously associated with NKG2D (NK group 2, member D) mRNA and protein levels. Flow cytometric analysis confirmed the association with protein level in NK cells. The GWAS susceptibility allele (A) of rs10772271 (odds ratio [OR] = 2.34) corresponded with decreased NKG2D expression. The allele was nominally associated with bronchiolitis in one Finnish replicate (OR = 1.50), and the other showed directional consistency (OR = 1.43). No association was detected in Danish population CONCLUSIONS: The bronchiolitis GWAS susceptibility allele was linked to decreased NKG2D expression in the QTL data and in our expression analysis. We propose that reduced NKG2D expression predisposes infants to severe bronchiolitis.
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