GWAS-identified loci for coronary heart disease are associated with intima-media thickness and plaque presence at the carotid artery bulb.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have so far identified 45 loci that are robustly associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) in data from adult men and women of European descent.

Objectives

To examine whether the CHD-associated loci are associated with measures of atherosclerosis in data from up to 9582 individuals of European ancestry.

Methods

Forty-five SNPs representing the CHD-associated loci were genotyped in middle-aged to elderly individuals of European descent from four independent population-based studies (IMPROVE, MDC-CC, ULSAM and PIVUS). Intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured by external B-mode ultrasonography at the far wall of the bulb (sinus) and common carotid artery. Plaque presence was defined as a maximal IMT of the

SUBMITTER: den Hoed M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5526440 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature