Sharing diverse genomic and other biomedical datasets is critical to advancing scientific discoveries and their equitable translation to improve human health. However, data sharing remains challenging in the context of legacy datasets, evolving policies, multi-institutional consortium science, and international stakeholders. The NIH-funded Polygenic Risk Methods in Diverse Populations (PRIMED) Consortium was established to improve the performance of polygenic risk estimates for a broad range of health and disease outcomes with global impacts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Hum Genet
July 2025
Population descriptors used in genetic studies have broad social and translational implications. There are no globally agreed-upon definitions or usages of common population descriptors (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is a major public health crisis associated with high mortality rates. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) investigating body mass index (BMI) have largely relied on imputed data from European individuals. This study leveraged whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from 88,873 participants from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program, of which 51% were of non-European population groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSharing diverse genomic and other biomedical datasets is critical to advance scientific discoveries and their equitable translation to improve human health. However, data sharing remains challenging in the context of legacy datasets, evolving policies, multi-institutional consortium science, and international stakeholders. The NIH-funded Polygenic Risk Methods in Diverse Populations (PRIMED) Consortium was established to improve the performance of polygenic risk estimates for a broad range of health and disease outcomes with global impacts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Hum Genet
December 2024
Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) are characterized by substantial clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Multiple recurrent copy number variants (CNVs) increase risk for SSDs; however, how known risk CNVs and broader genome-wide CNVs influence clinical variability is unclear. The current study examined associations between borderline intellectual functioning or childhood-onset psychosis, known risk CNVs, and burden of deletions affecting genes in 18 previously validated neurodevelopmental gene-sets in 618 SSD individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimers Dement (N Y)
March 2024
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex disease influenced by genetics and environment. More than 75 susceptibility loci have been linked to late-onset AD, but most of these loci were discovered in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) exclusive to non-Hispanic White individuals. There are wide disparities in AD risk across racially stratified groups, and while these disparities are not due to genetic differences, underrepresentation in genetic research can further exacerbate and contribute to their persistence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCirc Genom Precis Med
April 2023
Background: Risk for venous thromboembolism has a strong genetic component. Whole genome sequencing from the TOPMed program (Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine) allowed us to look for new associations, particularly rare variants missed by standard genome-wide association studies.
Methods: The 3793 cases and 7834 controls (11.
Circ Genom Precis Med
February 2023
Background: Whether genetics contribute to the rising prevalence of obesity or its cardiovascular consequences in today's obesogenic environment remains unclear. We sought to determine whether the effects of a higher aggregate genetic burden of obesity risk on body mass index (BMI) or cardiovascular disease (CVD) differed by birth year.
Methods: We split the FHS (Framingham Heart Study) into 4 equally sized birth cohorts (birth year before 1932, 1932 to 1946, 1947 to 1959, and after 1960).
How race, ethnicity, and ancestry are used in genomic research has wide-ranging implications for how research is translated into clinical care and incorporated into public understanding. Correlation between race and genetic ancestry contributes to unresolved complexity for the scientific community, as illustrated by heterogeneous definitions and applications of these variables. Here, we offer commentary and recommendations on the use of race, ethnicity, and ancestry across the arc of genetic research, including data harmonization, analysis, and reporting.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Statins remain one of the most prescribed medications worldwide. While effective in decreasing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk, statin use is associated with adverse effects for a subset of patients, including disrupted metabolic control and increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Methods: We investigated the potential role of the gut microbiome in modifying patient responses to statin therapy across two independent cohorts (discovery n = 1,848, validation n = 991).
Am J Hum Genet
June 2022
Current publicly available tools that allow rapid exploration of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between markers (e.g., HaploReg and LDlink) are based on whole-genome sequence (WGS) data from 2,504 individuals in the 1000 Genomes Project.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeficiency of the immune checkpoint lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG3) protein is significantly associated with both elevated HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and myocardial infarction risk. We determined the association of genetic variants within ±500 kb of LAG3 with plasma LAG3 and defined LAG3-associated plasma proteins with HDL-C and clinical outcomes. Whole genome sequencing and plasma proteomics were obtained from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) cohorts as part of the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlatelets play a key role in thrombosis and hemostasis. Platelet count (PLT) and mean platelet volume (MPV) are highly heritable quantitative traits, with hundreds of genetic signals previously identified, mostly in European ancestry populations. We here utilize whole genome sequencing (WGS) from NHLBI's Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine initiative (TOPMed) in a large multi-ethnic sample to further explore common and rare variation contributing to PLT (n = 61 200) and MPV (n = 23 485).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhole-genome sequencing (WGS) and whole-exome sequencing studies have become increasingly available and are being used to identify rare genetic variants associated with health and disease outcomes. Investigators routinely use mixed models to account for genetic relatedness or other clustering variables (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNumerous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been conducted for the identification of genetic variants involved with human height. The vast majority of these studies, however, have been conducted in populations of European ancestry. Here, we report the first GWAS of adult height in the Taiwan Biobank using a discovery sample of 14 571 individuals and an independent replication sample of 20 506 individuals.
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