GWAS on longitudinal growth traits reveals different genetic factors influencing infant, child, and adult BMI.
Science advances 2018 ; 5: eaaw3095.
Couto Alves A, De Silva NMG, Karhunen V, Sovio U, Das S, Taal HR, Warrington NM, Lewin AM, Kaakinen M, Cousminer DL, Thiering E, Timpson NJ, Bond TA, Lowry E, Brown CD, Estivill X, Lindi V, Bradfield JP, Geller F, Speed D, Coin LJM, Loh M, Barton SJ, Beilin LJ, Bisgaard H, Bønnelykke K, Alili R, Hatoum IJ, Schramm K, Cartwright R, Charles MA, Salerno V, Clément K, Claringbould AAJ, BIOS Consortium, van Duijn CM, Moltchanova E, Eriksson JG, Elks C, Feenstra B, Flexeder C, Franks S, Frayling TM, Freathy RM, Elliott P, Widén E, Hakonarson H, Hattersley AT, Rodriguez A, Banterle M, Heinrich J, Heude B, Holloway JW, Hofman A, Hyppönen E, Inskip H, Kaplan LM, Hedman ÅK, Läärä E, Prokisch H, Grallert H, Lakka TA, Lawlor DA, Melbye M, Ahluwalia TS, Marinelli M, Millwood IY, Palmer LJ, Pennell CE, Perry JR, Ring SM, Savolainen MJ, Rivadeneira F, Standl M, Sunyer J, Tiesler CMT, Uitterlinden AG, Schierding W, O'Sullivan JM, Prokopenko I, Herzig KH, Smith GD, O'Reilly P, Felix JF, Buxton JL, Blakemore AIF, Ong KK, Jaddoe VWV, Grant SFA, Sebert S, McCarthy MI, Järvelin MR, Early Growth Genetics (EGG) Consortium
DOI : 10.1126/sciadv.aaw3095
PubMed ID : 31840077
PMCID :
URL : https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/9/eaaw3095
Abstract
Early childhood growth patterns are associated with adult health, yet the genetic factors and the developmental stages involved are not fully understood. Here, we combine genome-wide association studies with modeling of longitudinal growth traits to study the genetics of infant and child growth, followed by functional, pathway, genetic correlation, risk score, and colocalization analyses to determine how developmental timings, molecular pathways, and genetic determinants of these traits overlap with those of adult health. We found a robust overlap between the genetics of child and adult body mass index (BMI), with variants associated with adult BMI acting as early as 4 to 6 years old. However, we demonstrated a completely distinct genetic makeup for peak BMI during infancy, influenced by variation at the locus. These findings suggest that different genetic factors control infant and child BMI. In light of the obesity epidemic, these findings are important to inform the timing and targets of prevention strategies.
