Key result
African-ancestry GWAS meta-analysis identifies ~5 novel blood pressure loci across 21 independent variants.
Why the study?
Despite an elevated burden of HBP-induced cardiovascular diseases in populations of African descent, limited genetic studies have explored the genetic mechanisms driving this phenomenon.
What novel and known genetic variants, molecular pathways, and putative causal loci are associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure traits in individuals of African ancestry?
Meta-Analysis (n=80,950)
Yes
What novel and known genetic variants, molecular pathways, and putative causal loci are associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure traits in individuals of African ancestry?
This largest GWAS meta-analysis of blood pressure in African-ancestry individuals (n=80,950) identifies five novel genetic variants and highlights the power of multivariate and Bayesian fine-mapping approaches in ancestrally diverse populations.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May inform ancestry-specific BP risk models; extends GWAS catalogs and multivariate methods to diverse populations.
High blood pressure (HBP) has been implicated as a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases in several populations, including individuals of African ancestry. Despite the elevated burden of HBP-induced cardiovascular diseases in Africa and other populations of African descent, limited genetic studies have been carried out to explore the genetic mechanism driving this phenomenon. We performed genome-wide association univariate and multivariate analyses of both systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) traits in 80,950 individuals of African ancestry. We used summary statistics data from six independent cohorts, including the African Partnership for Chronic Disease Research (APCDR), the UK Biobank, and the Million Veteran Program (MVP). FUMA was used to annotate, prioritize, visualize, and interpret our findings to gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanism(s) underlying the genetics of BP traits. Finally, we undertook a Bayesian fine-mapping analysis to identify potential causal variants. Our meta-analysis identified 10 independent variants associated with SBP and 9 with DBP traits. Whilst our multivariate GWAS method identified 21 independent signals, 18 of these SNPs have been previously identified. SBP was linked to gene sets involved in biological processes such as synapse assembly and cell–cell adhesion via plasma membrane adhesion. Of the 19 independent SNPs identified in the BP meta-analysis, only 11 variants had posterior probability (PP) of > 50%, including one novel variant: rs562545 (MOBP, PP = 77%). To facilitate further research and fine-mapping of high-risk loci/variants in highly susceptible groups for cardiovascular disease and other related traits, large-scale genomic datasets are needed. Our findings highlight the importance of including ancestrally diverse populations in large GWASs and the need for diversity in genetic research.
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Udosen et al. (2023) conducted a meta-analysis in High blood pressure / Systolic and diastolic blood pressure traits (n=80,950). Genome-wide genetic variants (univariate meta-analysis and multivariate GWAS) was evaluated on Genome-wide significant genetic variants (p < 5 × 10^-8) associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p=<5 × 10^-8). Univariate meta-analysis and multivariate GWAS in 80,950 African-ancestry individuals identified 19 and 21 independent blood pressure variants respectively, including 5 novel loci.
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