Genetic Influences on Biomarkers in the Framingham Heart Study
Author Information
Author(s): Benjamin Emelia J, Dupuis Josée, Larson Martin G, Lunetta Kathryn L, Booth Sarah L, Govindaraju Diddahally R, Kathiresan Sekar, Keaney John F Jr, Keyes Michelle J, Lin Jing-Ping, Meigs James B, Robins Sander J, Rong Jian, Schnabel Renate, Vita Joseph A, Wang Thomas J, Wilson Peter WF, Wolf Philip A, Vasan Ramachandran S
Primary Institution: The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute's Framingham Heart Study
Hypothesis
What are the genetic contributions to variability in systemic biomarker concentrations?
Conclusion
The study identifies novel genetic influences on systemic biomarker variability that require further replication.
Supporting Evidence
- 58 SNPs were associated with biomarker concentrations with a p < 10-6.
- The top SNPs for MCP1 were rs2494250 (p = 1.00*10-14) and rs4128725 (p = 3.68*10-12).
- Previous candidate SNP associations with circulating CRP concentrations were replicated at p < 0.05.
- The study examined 22 systemic biomarker concentrations across four biological domains.
Takeaway
Scientists looked at how genes affect certain markers in the blood that can tell us about health. They found some new links that need to be checked again in other studies.
Methodology
The study used genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to examine the relationship between SNPs and biomarker concentrations in a cohort from the Framingham Heart Study.
Potential Biases
Potential for false positive findings due to multiple statistical tests.
Limitations
The cohort was primarily middle-aged, white individuals, which may limit generalizability, and the study may have lacked power to detect modest associations.
Participant Demographics
Mean age 59 years, 51% women.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p = 1.00*10-14 for top SNPs
Statistical Significance
p<10-6
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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