1. |
- Kanoni, Stavroula, et al.
(author)
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Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis.
- 2022
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In: Genome biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1474-760X .- 1465-6906 .- 1474-7596. ; 23:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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. |
- van de Vegte, Yordi, et al.
(author)
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Genetic insights into resting heart rate and its role in cardiovascular disease
- 2023
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 14:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The genetics and clinical consequences of resting heart rate (RHR) remain incompletely understood. Here, the authors discover new genetic variants associated with RHR and find that higher genetically predicted RHR decreases risk of atrial fibrillation and ischemic stroke. Resting heart rate is associated with cardiovascular diseases and mortality in observational and Mendelian randomization studies. The aims of this study are to extend the number of resting heart rate associated genetic variants and to obtain further insights in resting heart rate biology and its clinical consequences. A genome-wide meta-analysis of 100 studies in up to 835,465 individuals reveals 493 independent genetic variants in 352 loci, including 68 genetic variants outside previously identified resting heart rate associated loci. We prioritize 670 genes and in silico annotations point to their enrichment in cardiomyocytes and provide insights in their ECG signature. Two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses indicate that higher genetically predicted resting heart rate increases risk of dilated cardiomyopathy, but decreases risk of developing atrial fibrillation, ischemic stroke, and cardio-embolic stroke. We do not find evidence for a linear or non-linear genetic association between resting heart rate and all-cause mortality in contrast to our previous Mendelian randomization study. Systematic alteration of key differences between the current and previous Mendelian randomization study indicates that the most likely cause of the discrepancy between these studies arises from false positive findings in previous one-sample MR analyses caused by weak-instrument bias at lower P-value thresholds. The results extend our understanding of resting heart rate biology and give additional insights in its role in cardiovascular disease development.
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3. |
- Bygdell, Maria, et al.
(author)
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Childhood BMI is inversely associated with pubertal timing in normal-weight but not overweight boys.
- 2018
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In: The American journal of clinical nutrition. - : Elsevier BV. - 1938-3207 .- 0002-9165. ; 108:6, s. 1259-1263
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An inverse association between childhood body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) and pubertal timing is well established for girls. Among boys, studies are scarce and the results inconclusive.We aimed to determine the association between childhood BMI and age at peak height velocity (PHV) in boys.We collected height and weight measurements between 6.5 and 22 y of age for boys born 1945-1961 (original cohort; n=31,971; mean±SD childhood BMI: 15.74±1.41; age at PHV: 14.06±1.11 y) and 1981-1996 (replication cohort; n=1465; childhood BMI: 16.47±2.06; age at PHV: 13.71±1.08 y) attending schools in Gothenburg, Sweden, and examined at mandatory military conscription. Age at PHV was obtained from curve-fitting of measured heights with the use of a modified Infancy-Childhood-Puberty model.In the original cohort, childhood BMI was inversely associated with age at PHV (P<0.001) and a significant quadratic term for childhood BMI (P<0.001) indicated the nonlinearity of this association. Via piecewise linear regression, we identified a threshold for the association at a childhood BMI of 18.42. A significant inverse association was observed below (β:-0.17 y/BMI unit; 95% CI: -0.18, -0.16 y/BMI unit) but not above (β:0.02 y/BMI unit; 95% CI: -0.03, 0.06 y/BMI unit) this childhood BMI threshold. For every unit increase in childhood BMI, age at PHV was ∼2 mo earlier up to the childhood BMI threshold. Similar results were observed in the replication cohort, demonstrating a significant inverse association below (β:-0.16; 95% CI: -0.21, -0.11) but not above (β:-0.03; 95% CI: -0.11, 0.05) the childhood BMI threshold. The identified threshold was close to the cutoffs for overweight at 8 y of age, and childhood BMI was inversely associated with age at PHV below but not above the overweight cutoffs.The present findings establish an inverse association between childhood BMI and pubertal timing in normal-weight but not overweight boys.
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4. |
- Celind, Jimmy, et al.
(author)
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Childhood body mass index is associated with risk of adult colon cancer in men: An association modulated by pubertal change in body mass index
- 2019
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In: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 28:5, s. 974-979
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- - Background: The relative contribution of childhood and pubertal body mass index (BMI) for the risk of adult colorectal cancer is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the independent associations for childhood BMI and pubertal BMI change with risk of colorectal cancer in men. Methods: We included 37,663 men born in 1946 to 1961 who had weight and height measured at 8 (childhood) and 20 (young adult age) years of age available from the BMI Epidemiology Study. Information on colorectal cancer was retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Register (257 cases of colon cancer and 159 cases of rectal cancer). Results: Childhood BMI at 8 years of age [HR, 1.19 per SD increase; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06–1.33], but not pubertal BMI change (HR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.90–1.15), was associated with increased risk of colon cancer. Due to a significant interaction between childhood BMI and pubertal BMI change (P < 0.001), we stratified the analyses according to the median of pubertal BMI change. Childhood BMI was associated with risk of colon cancer in individuals with a pubertal BMI change above, but not below, the median (above: HR ¼ 1.48, 95% CI, 1.26–1.74; below: HR ¼ 0.95, 95% CI, 0.80–1.12). Neither childhood BMI nor pubertal BMI change was associated with rectal cancer. Conclusions: High childhood BMI was associated with increased risk of colon cancer only if it was followed by a pubertal BMI increase above the median. Impact: Further studies should evaluate prepubertal childhood BMI in relation to pubertal BMI change and BMI in middle age for the risk of colon cancer. © 2019 American Association for Cancer Research.
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5. |
- Ohlsson, Claes, 1965, et al.
(author)
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BMI change during puberty is an important determinant of adult type 2 diabetes risk in men.
- 2019
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In: The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. - : The Endocrine Society. - 1945-7197 .- 0021-972X. ; 104:5, s. 1823-1832
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this study was to determine the role of change in body mass index (BMI) during puberty, independent of childhood overweight, for the risk of adult type 2 diabetes in men.We included 36,176 men who had weight and height measured at age 8 (childhood) and 20 (young adult age) available from the BMI Epidemiology Study (BEST) and the Conscription register. Information on type 2 diabetes (n=1,777) was retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Register. Hazard ratios and 95% Confidence Intervals were estimated by Cox regressions including birth year and country of birth as covariates. Because the assumption of proportional hazards was violated for the association between BMI change during puberty and type 2 diabetes, we split the follow-up time into early (≤55.7 years) and late (>55.7 years).Both childhood overweight and a high BMI increase during puberty associated with risk of adult type 2 diabetes. Men with childhood overweight that normalized during puberty did not have a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes (Early type 2 diabetes 1.28[0.89; 1.82]; Late type 2 diabetes 1.35[0.97; 1.87]). Men who developed overweight during puberty (Early 4.67[3.90; 5.58]; Late 2.85[2.25; 3.61]) and men overweight at both childhood and young adult age (Early 4.82[3.84; 6.05]; Late 3.04[2.27; 4.06]) had substantially increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared with men who were never overweight.BMI change during puberty is an important, and childhood BMI a modest, independent determinant of adult type 2 diabetes risk in men.
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6. |
- Ohlsson, Claes, 1965, et al.
(author)
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Early puberty and risk for type 2 diabetes in men
- 2020
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In: Diabetologia. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0012-186X .- 1432-0428. ; 63, s. 1141-1150
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims/hypothesis The association between pubertal timing and type 2 diabetes, independent of prepubertal BMI, is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between pubertal timing and risk of adult type 2 diabetes, independent of prepubertal BMI, in Swedish men. Methods We included 30,697 men who had data for BMI at age 8 and 20 years and age at Peak Height Velocity (PHV), an objective assessment of pubertal timing, available from the BMI Epidemiology Study Gothenburg (BEST Gothenburg), Sweden. Information on type 2 diabetes (n = 1851) was retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Register. HRs and 95% CIs were estimated by Cox regression analysis. We observed violations of the assumption of proportional hazards for the association between age at PHV and the risk of type 2 diabetes and therefore split the follow-up period at the median age of type 2 diabetes diagnosis (57.2 years of age) to define early (<= 57.2 years) and late (>57.2 years) type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Results Age at PHV was inversely associated with both early (HR 1.28 per year decrease in age at PHV, 95% CI 1.21, 1.36) and late (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.06, 1.19) type 2 diabetes. After adjustment for childhood BMI, the associations between age at PHV and both early (HR 1.24, 95% CI 1.17, 1.31) and late (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.05, 1.17) type 2 diabetes were similar. Moreover, early age at PHV predicted insulin treatment of type 2 diabetes (OR 1.25 per year decrease in age at PHV, 95% CI 1.17, 1.33). Assuming a higher risk among those with an age at PHV below the median, the population attributable factor indicates that 15% fewer of the diagnosed individuals would have developed type 2 diabetes had they not reached puberty early. Conclusions/interpretation These findings indicate that early puberty may be a novel independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
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7. |
- Vandenput, Liesbeth, 1974, et al.
(author)
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Pubertal timing and adult fracture risk in men: A population-based cohort study.
- 2019
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In: PLoS medicine. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1549-1676. ; 16:12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Puberty is a critical period for bone mass accrual, and late puberty in boys is associated with reduced bone mass in adult men. The role of variations in pubertal timing within the normal range for adult fracture risk in men is, however, unknown. We, therefore, assessed the association between age at peak height velocity (PHV), an objective measure of pubertal timing, and fracture risk in adult men.In the BMI Epidemiology Study Gothenburg, 31,971 Swedish men born between January 1, 1945, and December 31, 1961, with detailed growth data (height and weight) available from centrally archived school healthcare records and the conscription register were followed until December 31, 2016. Age at PHV was calculated according to a modified infancy-childhood-puberty model, and fracture information was retrieved from the Swedish National Patient Register. The mean ± SD age at PHV was 14.1 ± 1.1 years. In total, 5,872 men (18.4%) sustained at least 1 fracture after 20 years of age and 5,731 men (17.9%) sustained a non-vertebral fracture after 20 years of age during a mean ± SD follow-up of 37.3 ± 11.7 years. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for birth year and country of origin revealed that age at PHV was associated with the risk of any fracture and non-vertebral fracture. Participants with age at PHV in the highest tertile (after 14.5 years of age) were at greater risk of any fracture (hazard ratio [HR] 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08-1.22, P < 0.001) and non-vertebral fracture (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.09-1.24, P < 0.001) compared with those with age at PHV in the lowest tertile (at 13.6 years of age or younger). Additional adjustments for birthweight, childhood BMI, adult educational level, and young adult height did not attenuate the associations between age at PHV and adult fracture risk. Limitations of this study include the inability to adjust for important risk factors for fracture, inadequate power to assess the relation between pubertal timing and specific fracture types, and the limited generalizability to other populations.In this study, we observed that late pubertal timing was associated with increased adult fracture risk in men. These findings suggest that information on pubertal timing might aid in the identification of those men at greatest risk of fracture.
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8. |
- Abel, Frida, 1974, et al.
(author)
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A 6-gene signature identifies four molecular subgroups of neuroblastoma
- 2011
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In: Cancer Cell International. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1475-2867. ; 11:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Abstract Background There are currently three postulated genomic subtypes of the childhood tumour neuroblastoma (NB); Type 1, Type 2A, and Type 2B. The most aggressive forms of NB are characterized by amplification of the oncogene MYCN (MNA) and low expression of the favourable marker NTRK1. Recently, mutations or high expression of the familial predisposition gene Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) was associated to unfavourable biology of sporadic NB. Also, various other genes have been linked to NB pathogenesis. Results The present study explores subgroup discrimination by gene expression profiling using three published microarray studies on NB (47 samples). Four distinct clusters were identified by Principal Components Analysis (PCA) in two separate data sets, which could be verified by an unsupervised hierarchical clustering in a third independent data set (101 NB samples) using a set of 74 discriminative genes. The expression signature of six NB-associated genes ALK, BIRC5, CCND1, MYCN, NTRK1, and PHOX2B, significantly discriminated the four clusters (p
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9. |
- Austin, Thomas R., et al.
(author)
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A plasma protein-based risk score to predict hip fractures
- 2024
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In: NATURE AGING. - 2662-8465.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As there are effective treatments to reduce hip fractures, identification of patients at high risk of hip fracture is important to inform efficient intervention strategies. To obtain a new tool for hip fracture prediction, we developed a protein-based risk score in the Cardiovascular Health Study using an aptamer-based proteomic platform. The proteomic risk score predicted incident hip fractures and improved hip fracture discrimination in two Tr & oslash;ndelag Health Study validation cohorts using the same aptamer-based platform. When transferred to an antibody-based proteomic platform in a UK Biobank validation cohort, the proteomic risk score was strongly associated with hip fractures (hazard ratio per s.d. increase, 1.64; 95% confidence interval 1.53-1.77). The proteomic risk score, but not available polygenic risk scores for fractures or bone mineral density, improved the C-index beyond the fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX), which integrates information from clinical risk factors (C-index, FRAX 0.735 versus FRAX + proteomic risk score 0.776). The developed proteomic risk score constitutes a new tool for stratifying patients according to hip fracture risk; however, its improvement in hip fracture discrimination is modest and its clinical utility beyond FRAX with information on femoral neck bone mineral density remains to be determined. The authors developed a proteomic risk score that improved the prediction of hip fractures in three validation cohorts analyzed by two different proteomic platforms. This risk score constitutes a new tool to stratify patients by hip fracture risk.
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10. |
- Austin, Thomas R, et al.
(author)
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Large-scale circulating proteome association study (CPAS) meta-analysis identifies circulating proteins and pathways predicting incident hip fractures.
- 2024
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In: Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. - 1523-4681. ; 39:2, s. 139-149
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Hip fractures are associated with significant disability, high cost, and mortality. However, the exact biological mechanisms underlying susceptibility to hip fractures remain incompletely understood. In an exploratory search of the underlying biology as reflected through the circulating proteome, we performed a comprehensive Circulating Proteome Association Study (CPAS) meta-analysis for incident hip fractures. Analyses included 6430 subjects from two prospective cohort studies (Cardiovascular Health Study and Trøndelag Health Study) with circulating proteomics data (aptamer-based 5K SomaScan version 4.0 assay; 4979 aptamers). Associations between circulating protein levels and incident hip fractures were estimated for each cohort using age and sex-adjusted Cox regression models. Participants experienced 643 incident hip fractures. Compared with the individual studies, inverse-variance weighted meta-analyses yielded more statistically significant associations, identifying 23 aptamers associated with incident hip fractures (conservative Bonferroni correction 0.05/4979, P<1.0×10-5). The aptamers most strongly associated with hip fracture risk corresponded to two proteins of the growth hormone/insulin growth factor system (GHR and IGFBP2), as well as GDF15 and EGFR. High levels of several inflammation-related proteins (CD14, CXCL12, MMP12, ITIH3) were also associated with increased hip fracture risk. Ingenuity pathway analysis identified reduced LXR/RXR activation and increased acute phase response signaling to be overrepresented among those proteins associated with increased hip fracture risk. These analyses identified several circulating proteins and pathways consistently associated with incident hip fractures. These findings underscore the usefulness of the meta-analytic approach for comprehensive CPAS in a similar manner as has previously been observed for large-scale human genetic studies. Future studies should investigate the underlying biology of these potential novel drug targets.
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