| 1. |
- Kanoni, Stavroula, et al.
(författare)
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Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis.
- 2022
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Ingår i: Genome biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1474-760X .- 1465-6906 .- 1474-7596. ; 23:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Genetic variants within nearly 1000 loci are known to contribute to modulation of blood lipid levels. However, the biological pathways underlying these associations are frequently unknown, limiting understanding of these findings and hindering downstream translational efforts such as drug target discovery.To expand our understanding of the underlying biological pathways and mechanisms controlling blood lipid levels, we leverage a large multi-ancestry meta-analysis (N = 1,654,960) of blood lipids to prioritize putative causal genes for 2286 lipid associations using six gene prediction approaches. Using phenome-wide association (PheWAS) scans, we identify relationships of genetically predicted lipid levels to other diseases and conditions. We confirm known pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular phenotypes and determine novel associations, notably with cholelithiasis risk. We perform sex-stratified GWAS meta-analysis of lipid levels and show that 3-5% of autosomal lipid-associated loci demonstrate sex-biased effects. Finally, we report 21 novel lipid loci identified on the X chromosome. Many of the sex-biased autosomal and X chromosome lipid loci show pleiotropic associations with sex hormones, emphasizing the role of hormone regulation in lipid metabolism.Taken together, our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms through which associated variants lead to altered lipid levels and potentially cardiovascular disease risk.
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| 2. |
- Chikowore, Tinashe, et al.
(författare)
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GWAS transethnic meta-analysis of BMI in similar to 700k individuals reveals novel gene-smoking interaction in African populations
- 2020
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Ingår i: Genetic Epidemiology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0741-0395 .- 1098-2272. ; 44:5, s. 475-476
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sixty two percent of the 1.12 billion obese people globally reside in low‐middle income countries, 77% of which are in Africa. There is paucity of data on gene‐lifestyle interactions associated with the increasing prevalence of obesity among Africans. We hypothesised that gene‐environment interacting (GEI) variants exhibit heterogenous effects on obesity in transethnic meta‐analysis of marginal SNP associations as a result of modification by an unknown exposure that varies across populations.Body mass index (BMI) genome‐wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for 678,671 individuals representative of the major global ancestries were aggregated at 21,338,816 SNPs via fixed‐effects meta‐analysis. Lead SNPs attaining genome‐wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8) were tested for heterogeneity in effects between GWAS. Lead SNPs with significant evidence of heterogeneity after Bonferroni correction were then selected for interaction analysis with selected lifestyle factors in an independent AWI‐Gen study of 10,500 African participants. Significant interaction findings were then replicated in 3,177 individuals of African ancestry in the UK Biobank.Of 881 lead SNPs, five had significant heterogenous effects on BMI (P < 5.7 × 10−5). Rs471094, at the CDKAL1 locus had significant interaction with smoking status, which reduced the effect of the BMI raising allele in current smokers (Betaint = −0.949 kg/m2; P int = .002) compared with non‐smokers in AWI‐Gen. This finding was validated in the UK Biobank (Betaint = −1.471 kg/m2, P int = .020; meta‐analysis Betaint = −1.050 kg/m2, P int = .0002). Our results highlight the first gene‐lifestyle interaction on BMI in Africans and demonstrate the utility of transethnic meta‐analysis of GWAS for identifying GEI effects.
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| 3. |
- Choudhury, Ananyo, et al.
(författare)
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Bantu-speaker migration and admixture in southern Africa
- 2021
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Ingår i: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press. - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 30:R1, s. R56-R63
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The presence of Early and Middle Stone Age human remains and associated archeological artifacts from various sites scattered across southern Africa, suggests this geographic region to be one of the first abodes of anatomically modern humans. Although the presence of hunter-gatherer cultures in this region dates back to deep times, the peopling of southern Africa has largely been reshaped by three major sets of migrations over the last 2000 years. These migrations have led to a confluence of four distinct ancestries (San hunter-gatherer, East-African pastoralist, Bantu-speaker farmer and Eurasian) in populations from this region. In this review, we have summarized the recent insights into the refinement of timelines and routes of the migration of Bantu-speaking populations to southern Africa and their admixture with resident southern African Khoe-San populations. We highlight two recent studies providing evidence for the emergence of fine-scale population structure within some South-Eastern Bantu-speaker groups. We also accentuate whole genome sequencing studies (current and ancient) that have both enhanced our understanding of the peopling of southern Africa and demonstrated a huge potential for novel variant discovery in populations from this region. Finally, we identify some of the major gaps and inconsistencies in our understanding and emphasize the importance of more systematic studies of southern African populations from diverse ethnolinguistic groups and geographic locations.
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| 4. |
- Hollfelder, Nina, 1985-
(författare)
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Population genetic history and patterns of admixture : Examples from northeastern and southern Africa
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The origin of humans lies in Africa, as has been shown by archaeology, paleontology and genetics. Here, we can find the largest genetic diversity and the deepest split among human populations. African genetic diversity has been shaped by a long and complex history. In this thesis, I applied population genomic methods to investigate different aspects of the demographic history of Africa, specifically northeast and southern Africa.Both of these regions are population melting-pots, with many historically known major migrations.In northeast African populations, Eurasian admixture in central, northern, and eastern Sudanese populations was identified to be of Middle Eastern origin and the admixture time coincides with the Arab expansion. In northeast Africa I also studied alleles associated with lactase persistence, the ability to digest milk at an adult age. A wide diversity of these alleles was detected in Sudan, most commonly among pastoralists. The presence of a Middle Eastern LP-allele and absence of a European LP-allele is consistent with the admixture pattern observed in the first paper.I deciphered the patterns of genetic admixture in the Afrikaner population of South Africa and compared admixture patterns of the X-chromosome and autosomes to disentangle sex-biased admixture in southern African populations.The Afrikaner were shown to carry on average 5% non-European admixture, mostly from Khoe-San, East and South Asian sources. The admixture was sex-biased, with larger contributions from European males and admixture with Africans can be dated to 9-10 generations ago – fitting previous genealogical estimates of the age and the history of the population.Bantu-speaker/Khoe-San contact shows a pattern of female Bantu-speaker bias, which is conflicting with previous mtDNA and Y-chromosome studies. A change in mate-choice over time could explain this discrepancy.This thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of African demographic history in general and of some previously understudied populations and geographic areas in particular.
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| 5. |
- Nonterah, Engelbert A., et al.
(författare)
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Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Association Between Classical Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Common Carotid Intima-Media Thickness : An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of the American Heart Association. - 2047-9980. ; 11:15
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The major risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease differ by race or ethnicity but have largely been defined using populations of European ancestry. Despite the rising prevalence of cardiovascular disease in Africa there are few related data from African populations. Therefore, we compared the association of established cardiovascular risk factors with carotid-intima media thickness (CIMT), a subclinical marker of atherosclerosis, between African, African American, Asian, European, and Hispanic populations. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cross-sectional analyses of 34 025 men and women drawn from 15 cohorts in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America were undertaken. Classical cardiovascular risk factors were assessed and CIMT measured using B-mode ultrasound. Ethnic differences in the association of established cardiovascular risk factors with CIMT were determined using a 2-stage individual participant data meta-analysis with beta coefficients expressed as a percentage using the White population as the reference group. CIMT adjusted for risk factors was the greatest among African American populations followed by Asian, European, and Hispanic populations with African populations having the lowest mean CIMT. In all racial or ethnic groups, men had higher CIMT levels compared with women. Age, sex, body mass index, and systolic blood pressure had a significant positive association with CIMT in all races and ethnicities at varying magnitudes. When compared with European populations, the association of age, sex, and systolic blood pressure with CIMT was weaker in all races and ethnicities. Smoking (beta coeffi-cient, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.09– 0.70), body mass index (beta coefficient, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.01– 0.08) and glucose (beta coefficient, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.06– 0.19) had the strongest positive association with CIMT in the Asian population when compared with all other racial and ethnic groups. High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol had significant protective effects in African American (beta coefficient, −0.31; 95% CI, −0.42 to −0.21) and African (beta coefficient, −0.26; 95% CI, −0.31 to −0.19) populations only. CONCLUSIONS: The strength of association between established cardiovascular risk factors and CIMT differed across the racial or ethnic groups and may be due to lifestyle risk factors and genetics. These differences have implications for race-ethnicity-specific primary prevention strategies and also give insights into the differential contribution of risk factors to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. The greatest burden of subclinical atherosclerosis in African American individuals warrants further investigations.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Sengupta, Dhriti, et al.
(författare)
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Genetic substructure and complex demographic history of South African Bantu speakers
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- South Eastern Bantu-speaking (SEB) groups constitute more than 80% of the population in South Africa. Despite clear linguistic and geographic diversity, the genetic differences between these groups have not been systematically investigated. Based on genome-wide data of over 5000 individuals, representing eight major SEB groups, we provide strong evidence for fine-scale population structure that broadly aligns with geographic distribution and is also congruent with linguistic phylogeny (separation of Nguni, Sotho-Tswana and Tsonga speakers). Although differential Khoe-San admixture plays a key role, the structure persists after Khoe-San ancestry-masking. The timing of admixture, levels of sex-biased gene flow and population size dynamics also highlight differences in the demographic histories of individual groups. The comparisons with five Iron Age farmer genomes further support genetic continuity over similar to 400 years in certain regions of the country. Simulated trait genome-wide association studies further show that the observed population structure could have major implications for biomedical genomics research in South Africa. Despite linguistic and geographic diversity in South Eastern Bantu-speaking (SEB) groups of South Africa, genetic variation in these groups has not been investigated in depth. Here, the authors analyse genome-wide data from 5056 individuals, providing insights into demographic history across SEB groups.
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| 8. |
- Wagner, Ryan G., et al.
(författare)
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Estimating the burden of cardiovascular risk in community dwellers over 40 years old in South Africa, Kenya, Burkina Faso and Ghana
- 2021
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Ingår i: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 6:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors are increasing in sub-Saharan Africa. The impact of these risk factors on future CVD outcomes and burden is poorly understood. We examined the magnitude of modifiable risk factors, estimated future CVD risk and compared results between three commonly used 10-year CVD risk factor algorithms and their variants in four African countries.Methods: In the Africa-Wits-INDEPTH partnership for Genomic studies (the AWI-Gen Study), 10 349 randomly sampled individuals aged 40-60 years from six sites participated in a survey, with blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid levels measured. Using these data, 10-year CVD risk estimates using Framingham, Globorisk and WHO-CVD and their office-based variants were generated. Differences in future CVD risk and results by algorithm are described using kappa and coefficients to examine agreement and correlations, respectively.Results: The 10-year CVD risk across all participants in all sites varied from 2.6% (95% CI: 1.6% to 4.1%) using the WHO-CVD lab algorithm to 6.5% (95% CI: 3.7% to 11.4%) using the Framingham office algorithm, with substantial differences in risk between sites. The highest risk was in South African settings (in urban Soweto: 8.9% (IQR: 5.3-15.3)). Agreement between algorithms was low to moderate (kappa from 0.03 to 0.55) and correlations ranged between 0.28 and 0.70. Depending on the algorithm used, those at high risk (defined as risk of 10-year CVD event >20%) who were under treatment for a modifiable risk factor ranged from 19.2% to 33.9%, with substantial variation by both sex and site.Conclusion: The African sites in this study are at different stages of an ongoing epidemiological transition as evidenced by both risk factor levels and estimated 10-year CVD risk. There is low correlation and disparate levels of population risk, predicted by different risk algorithms, within sites. Validating existing risk algorithms or designing context-specific 10-year CVD risk algorithms is essential for accurately defining population risk and targeting national policies and individual CVD treatment on the African continent.
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