Comprehensive genetic analysis of the human lipidome identifies loci associated with lipid homeostasis with links to coronary artery disease.

We integrated lipidomics and genomics to unravel the genetic architecture of lipid metabolism and identify genetic variants associated with lipid species putatively in the mechanistic pathway for coronary artery disease (CAD). We quantified 596 lipid species in serum from 4,492 individuals from the Busselton Health Study. The discovery GWAS identified 3,361 independent lipid-loci associations, involving 667 genomic regions (479 previously unreported), with validation in two independent cohorts.

Association between dietary niacin and retinal nerve fibre layer thickness in healthy eyes of different ages.

Background: To investigate the relationship between dietary intake of niacin (water-soluble form of vitamin B ) and retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness in healthy eyes.

Methods: This cross-sectional study examined the association between daily niacin intake and RNFL thickness in three large population-based cohorts with varied age differences. RNFL thickness was extracted from optical coherence tomography data; energy-adjusted niacin intake was estimated from food frequency questionnaires.

Prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity in Australian baby boomers: the Busselton healthy ageing study.

Background And Objective: Chronic medical conditions accumulate within individuals with age. However, knowledge concerning the trends, patterns and determinants of multimorbidity remains limited. This study assessed the prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity using extensive individual phenotyping in a general population of Australian middle-aged adults.

Heritability of 596 lipid species and genetic correlation with cardiovascular traits in the Busselton Family Heart Study.

CVD is the leading cause of death worldwide, and genetic investigations into the human lipidome may provide insight into CVD risk. The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of circulating lipid species and their genetic correlation with CVD traits. Targeted lipidomic profiling was performed on 4,492 participants from the Busselton Family Heart Study to quantify the major fatty acids of 596 lipid species from 33 classes.

Pleiotropy of cardiometabolic syndrome with obesity-related anthropometric traits determined using empirically derived kinships from the Busselton Health Study.

Over two billion adults are overweight or obese and therefore at an increased risk of cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS). Obesity-related anthropometric traits genetically correlated with CMS may provide insight into CMS aetiology. The aim of this study was to utilise an empirically derived genetic relatedness matrix to calculate heritabilities and genetic correlations between CMS and anthropometric traits to determine whether they share genetic risk factors (pleiotropy).

Association Between Telomere Length and Risk of Cancer and Non-Neoplastic Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Importance: The causal direction and magnitude of the association between telomere length and incidence of cancer and non-neoplastic diseases is uncertain owing to the susceptibility of observational studies to confounding and reverse causation.

Objective: To conduct a Mendelian randomization study, using germline genetic variants as instrumental variables, to appraise the causal relevance of telomere length for risk of cancer and non-neoplastic diseases.

Data Sources: Genomewide association studies (GWAS) published up to January 15, 2015.