Hand grip strength is a widely used proxy of muscular fitness, a marker of frailty, and predictor of a range of morbidities and all-cause mortality. To investigate the genetic determinants of variatio Show more
Hand grip strength is a widely used proxy of muscular fitness, a marker of frailty, and predictor of a range of morbidities and all-cause mortality. To investigate the genetic determinants of variation in grip strength, we perform a large-scale genetic discovery analysis in a combined sample of 195,180 individuals and identify 16 loci associated with grip strength (P<5 × 10 Show less
In sequencing studies of common diseases and quantitative traits, power to test rare and low frequency variants individually is weak. To improve power, a common approach is to combine statistical evid Show more
In sequencing studies of common diseases and quantitative traits, power to test rare and low frequency variants individually is weak. To improve power, a common approach is to combine statistical evidence from several genetic variants in a region. Major challenges are how to do the combining and which statistical framework to use. General approaches for testing association between rare variants and quantitative traits include aggregating genotypes and trait values, referred to as 'collapsing', or using a score-based variance component test. However, little attention has been paid to alternative models tailored for protein truncating variants. Recent studies have highlighted the important role that protein truncating variants, commonly referred to as 'loss of function' variants, may have on disease susceptibility and quantitative levels of biomarkers. We propose a Bayesian modelling framework for the analysis of protein truncating variants and quantitative traits. Our simulation results show that our models have an advantage over the commonly used methods. We apply our models to sequence and exome-array data and discover strong evidence of association between low plasma triglyceride levels and protein truncating variants at APOC3 (Apolipoprotein C3). Software is available from http://www.well.ox.ac.uk/~rivas/mamba Show less
Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level is associated with cardiovascular disease and may play an etiologic role in vascular damage, a precursor for atherosclerosis. We performed a genome-wide association stu Show more
Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) level is associated with cardiovascular disease and may play an etiologic role in vascular damage, a precursor for atherosclerosis. We performed a genome-wide association study for Hcy in 1786 unrelated Filipino women from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS). The most strongly associated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs7422339, P = 4.7 x 10(-13)) encodes Thr1405Asn in the gene CPS1 and explained 3.0% of variation in the Hcy level. The widely studied MTHFR C677T SNP (rs1801133) was also highly significant (P = 8.7 x 10(-10)) and explained 1.6% of the trait variation. We also genotyped these two SNPs in 1679 CLHNS young adult offspring. The MTHFR C677T SNP was strongly associated with Hcy (P = 1.9 x 10(-26)) and explained approximately 5.1% of the variation in the offspring. In contrast, the CPS1 variant was significant only in females (P = 0.11 in all; P = 0.0087 in females). Combined analysis of all samples confirmed that the MTHFR variant was more strongly associated with Hcy in the offspring (interaction P = 1.2 x 10(-5)). Furthermore, although there was evidence for a positive synergistic effect between the CPS1 and MTHFR SNPs in the offspring (interaction P = 0.0046), there was no significant evidence for an interaction in the mothers (P = 0.55). These data confirm a recent finding that CPS1 is a locus influencing Hcy levels in women and suggest that genetic effects on Hcy may differ across developmental stages. Show less