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Large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >175 loci associated with fasting cholesterol levels, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). With differences in linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure and allele frequencies between ancestry groups, studies in additional large samples may detect new associations. We conducted staged GWAS meta-analyses in up to 69,414 East Asian individuals from 24 studies with participants from Japan, the Philippines, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. These meta-analyses identified (P

BackgroundAlthough numerous phenotype based equations for predicting risk of ‘hard’ coronary heart disease are available, data on the utility of genetic information for such risk prediction is lacking in Chinese populations.DesignCase–control study nested within the Singapore Chinese Health Study.MethodsA total of 1306 subjects comprising 836 men (267 incident cases and 569 controls) and 470 women (128 incident cases and 342 controls) were included. A Genetic Risk Score comprising 156 single nucleotide polymorphisms that have been robustly associated with coronary heart disease or its risk factors (p

Cohort Profile: The Jerusalem Perinatal Family Follow-Up Study Gabriella M. Lawrence, David S. Siscovick, Ronit Calderon-Margalit, Daniel A. Enquobahrie, Einat Granot-Hershkovitz, Susan Harlap, Orly Manor, Vardiella Meiner, Ora Paltiel, Pui-Yan Kwok, Yechiel Friedlander and Hagit Hochner* Braun School of Public Health, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, NY, USA, Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Departments of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA, Department of Human Genetics, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, Hematology Department, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, Institute for Human Genetics, Cardiovascular Research Institute and Department of Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA

The role of genetic and environmental factors determining the variability in alcohol consumption levels was investigated in 68 families ascertained through heroin-dependent Jewish male probands. Sibling correlations for peak weekly alcohol consumption ranged from 0.22 to 0.32, with limited changes on adjustment for sex, age and environmental variables. The parent-child correlations were relatively low. Segregation analysis indicated that a major effect of a non-transmitted environmental factor explained the mixture of distributions. There was no evidence for a polygenic effect on alcohol consumption in the families. When segregation models were fitted to sex, age and environment-adjusted alcohol levels, the mixed environment model was rejected, whereas the mixed genetic model was not. These findings are consistent with two previously published segregation analyses of alcohol dependence, and further highlight the heterogeneous aetiology and transmission of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence.

Parent-offspring associations of total cholesterol and triglycerides were compared between family dyads in six North American populations examined between 1972 and 1976 as part of the North American Lipid Research Clinics Prevalence Study and those from families examined between 1976 and 1979 at the Lipid Research Clinic located in Jerusalem. Common study design, protocol, and laboratory techniques were used by all Lipid Research Clinics. The authors first examined homogeneity of familial correlations across clinics in the North American population and across origin groups in the Israeli sample. In general, correlations were homogeneous across clinics and origin groups, except for parent-daughter pairs for triglycerides in North America. The pooled familial correlations were similar in the two study populations. There was no asymmetry in parent-offspring correlations by the sex of the offspring. The pooled mother-child correlations were significantly higher than father-child values in the North American sample only. The strength of parent-offspring similarity showed no consistent pattern of change with level of education of parents in either study group. Patterns of familial similarity are discussed in relation to genetic, cultural, and environmental differences between the two study populations.