Meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies identify multiple loci associated with pulmonary function.
Hancock DB., Eijgelsheim M., Wilk JB., Gharib SA., Loehr LR., Marciante KD., Franceschini N., van Durme YMTA., Chen T-H., Barr RG., Schabath MB., Couper DJ., Brusselle GG., Psaty BM., van Duijn CM., Rotter JI., Uitterlinden AG., Hofman A., Punjabi NM., Rivadeneira F., Morrison AC., Enright PL., North KE., Heckbert SR., Lumley T., Stricker BHC., O'Connor GT., London SJ.
Spirometric measures of lung function are heritable traits that reflect respiratory health and predict morbidity and mortality. We meta-analyzed genome-wide association studies for two clinically important lung-function measures: forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV(1)) and its ratio to forced vital capacity (FEV(1)/FVC), an indicator of airflow obstruction. This meta-analysis included 20,890 participants of European ancestry from four CHARGE Consortium studies: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities, Cardiovascular Health Study, Framingham Heart Study and Rotterdam Study. We identified eight loci associated with FEV(1)/FVC (HHIP, GPR126, ADAM19, AGER-PPT2, FAM13A, PTCH1, PID1 and HTR4) and one locus associated with FEV(1) (INTS12-GSTCD-NPNT) at or near genome-wide significance (P < 5 x 10(-8)) in the CHARGE Consortium dataset. Our findings may offer insights into pulmonary function and pathogenesis of chronic lung disease.