scholarly journals Genetic risk scores for cardiometabolic traits in sub-Saharan African populations

Author(s):  
Kenneth Ekoru ◽  
Adebowale A Adeyemo ◽  
Guanjie Chen ◽  
Ayo P Doumatey ◽  
Jie Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There is growing support for the use of genetic risk scores (GRS) in routine clinical settings. Due to the limited diversity of current genomic discovery samples, there are concerns that the predictive power of GRS will be limited in non-European ancestry populations. GRS for cardiometabolic traits were evaluated in sub-Saharan Africans in comparison with African Americans and European Americans. Methods We evaluated the predictive utility of GRS for 12 cardiometabolic traits in sub-Saharan Africans (AF; n = 5200), African Americans (AA; n = 9139) and European Americans (EUR; n = 9594). GRS were constructed as weighted sums of the number of risk alleles. Predictive utility was assessed using the additional phenotypic variance explained and the increase in discriminatory ability over traditional risk factors [age, sex and body mass index (BMI)], with adjustment for ancestry-derived principal components. Results Across all traits, GRS showed up to a 5-fold and 20-fold greater predictive utility in EUR relative to AA and AF, respectively. Predictive utility was most consistent for lipid traits, with percentage increase in explained variation attributable to GRS ranging from 10.6% to 127.1% among EUR, 26.6% to 65.8% among AA and 2.4% to 37.5% among AF. These differences were recapitulated in the discriminatory power, whereby the predictive utility of GRS was 4-fold greater in EUR relative to AA and up to 44-fold greater in EUR relative to AF. Obesity and blood pressure traits showed a similar pattern of greater predictive utility among EUR. Conclusions This work demonstrates the poorer performance of GRS in AF and highlights the need to improve representation of multiple ethnic populations in genomic studies to ensure equitable clinical translation of GRS.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Ekoru ◽  
Adebowale A. Adeyemo ◽  
Guanjie Chen ◽  
Ayo P. Doumatey ◽  
Jie Zhou ◽  
...  

AbstractThere is growing support for the use of genetic risk scores (GRS) in routine clinical settings. Due to the limited diversity of current genomic discovery samples, there are concerns that the predictive power of GRS will be limited in non-European ancestry populations. Here, we evaluated the predictive utility of GRS for 12 cardiometabolic traits in sub-Saharan Africans (AF; n=5200), African Americans (AA; n=9139), and European Americans (EA; n=9594). GRS were constructed as weighted sums of the number of risk alleles. Predictive utility was assessed using the additional phenotypic variance explained and increase in discriminatory ability over traditional risk factors (age, sex and BMI), with adjustment for ancestry-derived principal components. Across all traits, GRS showed upto a 5-fold and 20-fold greater predictive utility in EA relative to AA and AF, respectively. Predictive utility was most consistent for lipid traits, with percent increase in explained variation attributable to GRS ranging from 10.6% to 127.1% among EA, 26.6% to 65.8% among AA, and 2.4% to 37.5% among AF. These differences were recapitulated in the discriminatory power, whereby the predictive utility of GRS was 4-fold greater in EA relative to AA and up to 44-fold greater in EA relative to AF. Obesity and blood pressure traits showed a similar pattern of greater predictive utility among EA. This work demonstrates the poorer performance of GRS in AF and highlights the need to improve representation of multiethnic populations in genomic studies to ensure equitable clinical translation of GRS.Key MessagesGenetic Risk Score (GRS) prediction is markedly poorer in sub-Saharan Africans compared with African Americans and European AmericansTo ensure equitable clinical translation of GRS, there is need need to improve representation of multiethnic populations in genomic studies


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey E. Grinde ◽  
Qibin Qi ◽  
Timothy A. Thornton ◽  
Simin Liu ◽  
Aladdin H. Shadyab ◽  
...  

AbstractGenetic risk scores (GRSs) are weighted sums of risk allele counts of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with a disease or trait. Construction of GRSs is typically based on published results from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWASs), the majority of which have been performed in large populations of European ancestry (EA) individuals. While many genotype-trait associations have been shown to generalize from EA populations to other populations, such as Hispanics/Latinos, the optimal choice of SNPs and weights for GRSs may differ between populations due to different linkage disequilibrium (LD) and allele frequency patterns. This is further complicated by the fact that different Hispanic/Latino populations may have different admixture patterns, so that LD and allele frequency patterns may not be the same among non-EA populations. Here, we compare various approaches for GRS construction, using GWAS results from both large EA studies and a smaller study in Hispanics/Latinos, the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL, n = 12, 803). We consider multiple ways to select SNPs from association regions and to calculate the SNP weights. We study the performance of the resulting GRSs in an independent study of Hispanics/Latinos from the Woman Health Initiative (WHI, n = 3, 582). We support our investigation with simulation studies of potential genetic architectures in a single locus. We observed that selecting variants based on EA GWASs generally performs well, as long as SNP weights are calculated using Hispanics/Latinos GWASs, or using the meta-analysis of EA and Hispanics/Latinos GWASs. The optimal approach depends on the genetic architecture of the trait.


Thorax ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. thoraxjnl-2020-215624
Author(s):  
Sinjini Sikdar ◽  
Annah B Wyss ◽  
Mi Kyeong Lee ◽  
Thanh T Hoang ◽  
Marie Richards ◽  
...  

RationaleGenome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified numerous loci associated with lower pulmonary function. Pulmonary function is strongly related to smoking and has also been associated with asthma and dust endotoxin. At the individual SNP level, genome-wide analyses of pulmonary function have not identified appreciable evidence for gene by environment interactions. Genetic Risk Scores (GRSs) may enhance power to identify gene–environment interactions, but studies are few.MethodsWe analysed 2844 individuals of European ancestry with 1000 Genomes imputed GWAS data from a case–control study of adult asthma nested within a US agricultural cohort. Pulmonary function traits were FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC. Using data from a recent large meta-analysis of GWAS, we constructed a weighted GRS for each trait by combining the top (p value<5×10−9) genetic variants, after clumping based on distance (±250 kb) and linkage disequilibrium (r2=0.5). We used linear regression, adjusting for relevant covariates, to estimate associations of each trait with its GRS and to assess interactions.ResultsEach trait was highly significantly associated with its GRS (all three p values<8.9×10−8). The inverse association of the GRS with FEV1/FVC was stronger for current smokers (pinteraction=0.017) or former smokers (pinteraction=0.064) when compared with never smokers and among asthmatics compared with non-asthmatics (pinteraction=0.053). No significant interactions were observed between any GRS and house dust endotoxin.ConclusionsEvaluation of interactions using GRSs supports a greater impact of increased genetic susceptibility on reduced pulmonary function in the presence of smoking or asthma.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 117955141774894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Layton ◽  
Xiaochen Li ◽  
Changyu Shen ◽  
Mary de Groot ◽  
Leslie Lange ◽  
...  

The relationship between genetic risk variants associated with glucose homeostasis and type 2 diabetes risk has yet to be fully explored in African American populations. We pooled data from 4 prospective studies including 4622 African Americans to assess whether β-cell dysfunction (BCD) and/or insulin resistance (IR) genetic variants were associated with increased type 2 diabetes risk. The BCD genetic risk score (GRS) and combined BCD/IR GRS were significantly associated with increased type 2 diabetes risk. In cardiometabolic-stratified models, the BCD and IR GRS were associated with increased type 2 diabetes risk among 5 cardiometabolic strata: 3 clinically healthy strata and 2 clinically unhealthy strata. Genetic risk scores related to BCD and IR were associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in African Americans. Notably, the GRSs were significant predictors of type 2 diabetes among individuals in clinically normal ranges of cardiometabolic traits.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 1329-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
AH Beecham ◽  
L Amezcua ◽  
A Chinea ◽  
CP Manrique ◽  
C Rubi ◽  
...  

Background: Substantial progress has been made toward unraveling the genetic architecture of multiple sclerosis (MS) within populations of European ancestry, but few genetic studies have focused on Hispanic and African American populations within the United States. Objective: We sought to test the relevance of common European MS risk variants outside of the major histocompatibility complex ( n = 200) within these populations. Methods: Genotype data were available on 2652 Hispanics (1298 with MS, 1354 controls) and 2435 African Americans (1298 with MS, 1137 controls). We conducted single variant, pathway, and cumulative genetic risk score analyses. Results: We found less replication than statistical power suggested, particularly among African Americans. This could be due to limited correlation between the tested and causal variants within the sample or alternatively could indicate allelic and locus heterogeneity. Differences were observed between pathways enriched among the replicating versus all 200 variants. Although these differences should be examined in larger samples, a potential role exists for gene–environment or gene–gene interactions which alter phenotype differentially across racial and ethnic groups. Cumulative genetic risk scores were associated with MS within each study sample but showed limited diagnostic capability. Conclusion: These findings provide a framework for fine-mapping efforts in multi-ethnic populations of MS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly A. Conran ◽  
Zhuqing Shi ◽  
William Kyle Resurreccion ◽  
Rong Na ◽  
Brian T. Helfand ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Genome-wide association studies have identified thousands of disease-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A subset of these SNPs may be additively combined to generate genetic risk scores (GRSs) that confer risk for a specific disease. Although the clinical validity of GRSs to predict risk of specific diseases has been well established, there is still a great need to determine their clinical utility by applying GRSs in primary care for cancer risk assessment and targeted intervention. Methods This clinical study involved 281 primary care patients without a personal history of breast, prostate or colorectal cancer who were 40–70 years old. DNA was obtained from a pre-existing biobank at NorthShore University HealthSystem. GRSs for colorectal cancer and breast or prostate cancer were calculated and shared with participants through their primary care provider. Additional data was gathered using questionnaires as well as electronic medical record information. A t-test or Chi-square test was applied for comparison of demographic and key clinical variables among different groups. Results The median age of the 281 participants was 58 years and the majority were female (66.6%). One hundred one (36.9%) participants received 2 low risk scores, 99 (35.2%) received 1 low risk and 1 average risk score, 37 (13.2%) received 1 low risk and 1 high risk score, 23 (8.2%) received 2 average risk scores, 21 (7.5%) received 1 average risk and 1 high risk score, and no one received 2 high risk scores. Before receiving GRSs, younger patients and women reported significantly more worry about risk of developing cancer. After receiving GRSs, those who received at least one high GRS reported significantly more worry about developing cancer. There were no significant differences found between gender, age, or GRS with regards to participants’ reported optimism about their future health neither before nor after receiving GRS results. Conclusions Genetic risk scores that quantify an individual’s risk of developing breast, prostate and colorectal cancers as compared with a race-defined population average risk have potential clinical utility as a tool for risk stratification and to guide cancer screening in a primary care setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
F.V Moniz Mendonca ◽  
M.I Mendonca ◽  
A Pereira ◽  
J Monteiro ◽  
J Sousa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The risk for Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is determined by both genetic and environmental factors, as well as by the interaction between them. It is estimated that genetic factors could account for 40% to 55% of the existing variability among the population (inheritability). Therefore, some authors have advised that it is time we integrated genetic risk scores into clinical practice. Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of the association between an additive genetic risk score (aGRS) and CAD based on the cumulative number of risk alleles in these variants, and to estimate whether their use is valuable in clinical practice. Methods A case-control study was performed in a Portuguese population. We enrolled 3120 participants, of whom 1687 were CAD patients and 1433 were normal controls. Controls were paired to cases with respect to gender and age. 33 genetic variants known to be associated with CAD were selected, and an aGRS was calculated for each individual. The aGRS was further subdivided into deciles groups, in order to estimate the CAD risk in each decile, defined by the number of risk alleles. The magnitude of the risk (odds ratio) was calculated for each group by multiple logistic regression using the 5th decile as the reference group (median). In order to evaluate the ability of the aGRS to discriminate susceptibility to CAD, two genetic models were performed, the first with traditional risk factors (TRF) and second with TRF plus aGRS. The AUC of the two ROC curves was calculated. Results A higher prevalence of cases over controls became apparent from the 6th decile of the aGRS, reflecting the higher number of risk alleles present (see figure). The difference in CAD risk was only significant from the 6th decile, increasing gradually until the 10th decile. The odds ratio (OR) for the last decile related to 5th decile (median) was 1.87 (95% CI:1.36–2.56; p&lt;0.0001). The first model yielded an AUC=0.738 (95% CI:0.720–0.755) and the second model was slightly more discriminative for CAD risk (AUC=0.748; 95% CI:0.730–0.765). The DeLong test was significant (p=0.0002). Conclusion Adding an aGRS to the non-genetic risk factors resulted in a modest improvement in the ability to discriminate the risk of CAD. Such improvement, even if statistically significant, does not appear to be of real value in clinical practice yet. We anticipate that with the development of further knowledge about different SNPs and their complex interactions, and with the inclusion of rare genetic variants, genetic risk scores will be better suited for use in a clinical setting. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


Author(s):  
Carla J. Gargallo-Puyuelo ◽  
Rocío Aznar-Gimeno ◽  
Patricia Carrera-Lasfuentes ◽  
Ángel Lanas ◽  
Ángel Ferrández ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth S. Kendler ◽  
Henrik Ohlsson ◽  
Jan Sundquist ◽  
Kristina Sundquist

AbstractTo clarify the structure of genetic risks for 11 major psychiatric disorders, we calculated, from morbidity risks for disorders in 1st–5th degree relatives controlling for cohabitation effects, in the Swedish population born between 1932 and 1995 (n = 5,830,014), the family genetic risk scores (FGRS) for major depression (MD), anxiety disorders (AD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SZ), bulimia (BUL), anorexia nervosa (AN), alcohol use disorder (AUD), drug use disorder (DUD), ADHD, and autism-spectrum disorder (ASD). For all affected individuals, we calculated their mean standardized FGRS for each disorder. The patterns of FGRS were quite similar for MD and AD, and for AUD and DUD, but substantially less similar for BUL and AN, BD and SZ, and ADHD and ASD. While OCD had high levels of FGRS for MD and AD, the overall FGRS profile differed considerably from MD and AD. ADHD FGRS scores were substantially elevated in AUD and DUD. FGRS scores for BD, OCD, AN, ASD, ADHD, and especially SZ were relatively disorder-specific while genetic risk for MD and AD had more generalized effects. The levels of FGRS for BMI, coronary artery disease, and educational attainment across our disorders replicated prior associations found using molecular genetic methods. All diagnostic categories examined had elevated FGRS for many disorders producing, for each condition, an informative FGRS profile. Using a novel method which approximates, from pedigree data, aggregate genetic risk, we have replicated and extended prior insights into the structure of genetic risk factors for key psychiatric illnesses.


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