@article {1179, title = {A meta-analysis of four genome-wide association studies of survival to age 90 years or older: the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium.}, journal = {J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci}, volume = {65}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 May}, pages = {478-87}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) may yield insights into longevity.

METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of GWAS in Caucasians from four prospective cohort studies: the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study, the Cardiovascular Health Study, the Framingham Heart Study, and the Rotterdam Study participating in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. Longevity was defined as survival to age 90 years or older (n = 1,836); the comparison group comprised cohort members who died between the ages of 55 and 80 years (n = 1,955). In a second discovery stage, additional genotyping was conducted in the Leiden Longevity Study cohort and the Danish 1905 cohort.

RESULTS: There were 273 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations with p < .0001, but none reached the prespecified significance level of 5 x 10(-8). Of the most significant SNPs, 24 were independent signals, and 16 of these SNPs were successfully genotyped in the second discovery stage, with one association for rs9664222, reaching 6.77 x 10(-7) for the combined meta-analysis of CHARGE and the stage 2 cohorts. The SNP lies in a region near MINPP1 (chromosome 10), a well-conserved gene involved in regulation of cellular proliferation. The minor allele was associated with lower odds of survival past age 90 (odds ratio = 0.82). Associations of interest in a homologue of the longevity assurance gene (LASS3) and PAPPA2 were not strengthened in the second stage.

CONCLUSION: Survival studies of larger size or more extreme or specific phenotypes may support or refine these initial findings.

}, keywords = {Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alleles, Cohort Studies, Confidence Intervals, Female, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, Longevity, Male, Middle Aged, Odds Ratio, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glq028}, author = {Newman, Anne B and Walter, Stefan and Lunetta, Kathryn L and Garcia, Melissa E and Slagboom, P Eline and Christensen, Kaare and Arnold, Alice M and Aspelund, Thor and Aulchenko, Yurii S and Benjamin, Emelia J and Christiansen, Lene and D{\textquoteright}Agostino, Ralph B and Fitzpatrick, Annette L and Franceschini, Nora and Glazer, Nicole L and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Hofman, Albert and Kaplan, Robert and Karasik, David and Kelly-Hayes, Margaret and Kiel, Douglas P and Launer, Lenore J and Marciante, Kristin D and Massaro, Joseph M and Miljkovic, Iva and Nalls, Michael A and Hernandez, Dena and Psaty, Bruce M and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Rotter, Jerome and Seshadri, Sudha and Smith, Albert V and Taylor, Kent D and Tiemeier, Henning and Uh, Hae-Won and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Vaupel, James W and Walston, Jeremy and Westendorp, Rudi G J and Harris, Tamara B and Lumley, Thomas and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Murabito, Joanne M} } @article {1307, title = {A genome-wide association study of aging.}, journal = {Neurobiol Aging}, volume = {32}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Nov}, pages = {2109.e15-28}, abstract = {

Human longevity and healthy aging show moderate heritability (20\%-50\%). We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from 9 studies from the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium for 2 outcomes: (1) all-cause mortality, and (2) survival free of major disease or death. No single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) was a genome-wide significant predictor of either outcome (p < 5 {\texttimes} 10(-8)). We found 14 independent SNPs that predicted risk of death, and 8 SNPs that predicted event-free survival (p < 10(-5)). These SNPs are in or near genes that are highly expressed in the brain (HECW2, HIP1, BIN2, GRIA1), genes involved in neural development and function (KCNQ4, LMO4, GRIA1, NETO1) and autophagy (ATG4C), and genes that are associated with risk of various diseases including cancer and Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s disease. In addition to considerable overlap between the traits, pathway and network analysis corroborated these findings. These findings indicate that variation in genes involved in neurological processes may be an important factor in regulating aging free of major disease and achieving longevity.

}, keywords = {Aging, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, Longevity}, issn = {1558-1497}, doi = {10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.05.026}, author = {Walter, Stefan and Atzmon, Gil and Demerath, Ellen W and Garcia, Melissa E and Kaplan, Robert C and Kumari, Meena and Lunetta, Kathryn L and Milaneschi, Yuri and Tanaka, Toshiko and Tranah, Gregory J and V{\"o}lker, Uwe and Yu, Lei and Arnold, Alice and Benjamin, Emelia J and Biffar, Reiner and Buchman, Aron S and Boerwinkle, Eric and Couper, David and De Jager, Philip L and Evans, Denis A and Harris, Tamara B and Hoffmann, Wolfgang and Hofman, Albert and Karasik, David and Kiel, Douglas P and Kocher, Thomas and Kuningas, Maris and Launer, Lenore J and Lohman, Kurt K and Lutsey, Pamela L and Mackenbach, Johan and Marciante, Kristin and Psaty, Bruce M and Reiman, Eric M and Rotter, Jerome I and Seshadri, Sudha and Shardell, Michelle D and Smith, Albert V and van Duijn, Cornelia and Walston, Jeremy and Zillikens, M Carola and Bandinelli, Stefania and Baumeister, Sebastian E and Bennett, David A and Ferrucci, Luigi and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Kivimaki, Mika and Liu, Yongmei and Murabito, Joanne M and Newman, Anne B and Tiemeier, Henning and Franceschini, Nora} } @article {1376, title = {The association between waist circumference and risk of mortality considering body mass index in 65- to 74-year-olds: a meta-analysis of 29 cohorts involving more than 58 000 elderly persons.}, journal = {Int J Epidemiol}, volume = {41}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Jun}, pages = {805-17}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: For the elderly, the association between waist circumference (WC) and mortality considering body mass index (BMI) remains unclear, and thereby also the evidence base for using these anthropometric measures in clinical practice. This meta-analysis examined the association between WC categories and (cause-specific) mortality within BMI categories. Furthermore, the association of continuous WC with lowest and increased mortality risks was examined.

METHODS: Age- and smoking-adjusted relative risks (RRs) of mortality associated with WC-BMI categories and continuous WC (including WC and WC(2)) were calculated by the investigators and pooled by means of random-effects models.

RESULTS: During a 5-year-follow-up of 32 678 men and 25 931 women, we ascertained 3318 and 1480 deaths, respectively. A large WC (men: >=102 cm, women: >=88 cm) was associated with increased all-cause mortality RRs for those in the {\textquoteright}healthy{\textquoteright} weight {1.7 [95\% confidence interval (CI): 1.2-2.2], 1.7 (95\% CI: 1.3-2.3)}, overweight [1.1(95\% CI: 1.0-1.3), 1.4 (95\%: 1.1-1.7)] and obese [1.1 (95\% CI: 1.0-1.3), 1.6 (95\% CI: 1.3-1.9)] BMI category compared with the {\textquoteright}healthy{\textquoteright} weight (20-24.9 kg/m(2)) and a small WC (<94 cm, men; <80 cm, women) category. Underweight was associated with highest all-cause mortality RRs in men [2.2 (95\% CI: 1.8-2.8)] and women [2.3 (95\% CI: 1.8-3.1]. We found a J-shaped association for continuous WC with all-cause, cardiovascular (CVD) and cancer, and a U-shaped association with respiratory disease mortality (P < 0.05). An all-cause (CVD) mortality RR of 2.0 was associated with a WC of 132 cm (123 cm) in men and 116 cm (105 cm) in women.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed increased mortality risks for elderly people with an increased WC-even across BMI categories- and for those who were classified as {\textquoteright}underweight{\textquoteright} using BMI. The results provide a solid basis for re-evaluation of WC cut-points in ageing populations.

}, keywords = {Aged, Body Mass Index, Body Weight, Cardiovascular Diseases, Female, Humans, Male, Mortality, Neoplasms, Overweight, Respiratory Tract Diseases, Risk Assessment, Waist Circumference}, issn = {1464-3685}, doi = {10.1093/ije/dys008}, author = {de Hollander, Ellen L and Bemelmans, Wanda Je and Boshuizen, Hendriek C and Friedrich, Nele and Wallaschofski, Henri and Guallar-Castill{\'o}n, Pilar and Walter, Stefan and Zillikens, M Carola and Rosengren, Annika and Lissner, Lauren and Bassett, Julie K and Giles, Graham G and Orsini, Nicola and Heim, Noor and Visser, Marjolein and de Groot, Lisette Cpgm} } @article {6820, title = {Novel genetic markers associate with atrial fibrillation risk in Europeans and Japanese.}, journal = {J Am Coll Cardiol}, volume = {63}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Apr 1}, pages = {1200-10}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to identify nonredundant atrial fibrillation (AF) genetic susceptibility signals and examine their cumulative relations with AF risk.

BACKGROUND: AF-associated loci span broad genomic regions that may contain multiple susceptibility signals. Whether multiple signals exist at AF loci has not been systematically explored.

METHODS: We performed association testing conditioned on the most significant, independently associated genetic markers at 9 established AF loci using 2 complementary techniques in 64,683 individuals of European ancestry (3,869 incident and 3,302 prevalent AF cases). Genetic risk scores were created and tested for association with AF in Europeans and an independent sample of 11,309 individuals of Japanese ancestry (7,916 prevalent AF cases).

RESULTS: We observed at least 4 distinct AF susceptibility signals on chromosome 4q25 upstream of PITX2, but not at the remaining 8 AF loci. A multilocus score comprised 12 genetic markers demonstrated an estimated 5-fold gradient in AF risk. We observed a similar spectrum of risk associated with these markers in Japanese. Regions containing AF signals on chromosome 4q25 displayed a greater degree of evolutionary conservation than the remainder of the locus, suggesting that they may tag regulatory elements.

CONCLUSIONS: The chromosome 4q25 AF locus is architecturally complex and harbors at least 4 AF susceptibility signals in individuals of European ancestry. Similar polygenic AF susceptibility exists between Europeans and Japanese. Future work is necessary to identify causal variants, determine mechanisms by which associated loci predispose to AF, and explore whether AF susceptibility signals classify individuals at risk for AF and related morbidity.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Asian Continental Ancestry Group, Atrial Fibrillation, Chromosome Mapping, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 4, Europe, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genetic Markers, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Homeodomain Proteins, Humans, Japan, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1558-3597}, doi = {10.1016/j.jacc.2013.12.015}, author = {Lubitz, Steven A and Lunetta, Kathryn L and Lin, Honghuang and Arking, Dan E and Trompet, Stella and Li, Guo and Krijthe, Bouwe P and Chasman, Daniel I and Barnard, John and Kleber, Marcus E and D{\"o}rr, Marcus and Ozaki, Kouichi and Smith, Albert V and M{\"u}ller-Nurasyid, Martina and Walter, Stefan and Agarwal, Sunil K and Bis, Joshua C and Brody, Jennifer A and Chen, Lin Y and Everett, Brendan M and Ford, Ian and Franco, Oscar H and Harris, Tamara B and Hofman, Albert and K{\"a}{\"a}b, Stefan and Mahida, Saagar and Kathiresan, Sekar and Kubo, Michiaki and Launer, Lenore J and Macfarlane, Peter W and Magnani, Jared W and McKnight, Barbara and McManus, David D and Peters, Annette and Psaty, Bruce M and Rose, Lynda M and Rotter, Jerome I and Silbernagel, Guenther and Smith, Jonathan D and Sotoodehnia, Nona and Stott, David J and Taylor, Kent D and Tomaschitz, Andreas and Tsunoda, Tatsuhiko and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Van Wagoner, David R and V{\"o}lker, Uwe and V{\"o}lzke, Henry and Murabito, Joanne M and Sinner, Moritz F and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Felix, Stephan B and M{\"a}rz, Winfried and Chung, Mina and Albert, Christine M and Stricker, Bruno H and Tanaka, Toshihiro and Heckbert, Susan R and Jukema, J Wouter and Alonso, Alvaro and Benjamin, Emelia J and Ellinor, Patrick T} }