Age of onset and effect size in genome-wide association studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many susceptibility loci for complex traits, but have not identified the majority of the genetic contribution to common diseases. We explored whether the magnitude of associations detected in GWAS and, therefore, the likelihood of detecting a significant association for a given sample size, is generally greater for childhood-onset traits (e.g., birth defects) than for traits with onset in adulthood.

Methods

Data were obtained from the National Human Genome Research Institute Catalog of Published GWAS. Traits were categorized as having an average age of onset in childhood (<18 years, n = 15 traits), early adulthood (18-54 years, n = 32 traits), or late adulthood (≥55 years, n = 31 traits). The relationship betw

SUBMITTER: Agopian AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4219508 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature