A multi-ancestry genome-wide study incorporating gene-smoking interactions identifies multiple new loci for pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure

Elevated blood pressure (BP), a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality, is influenced by both genetic and lifestyle factors. Cigarette smoking is one such lifestyle factor. Across five ancestries, we performed a genome-wide gene-smoking interaction study of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse pressure (PP) in 129 913 individuals in stage 1 and follow-up analysis in 480 178 additional individuals in stage 2. We report here 136 loci significantly associated with MAP and/or PP. Of these, 61 were previously published through main-effect analysis of BP traits, 37 were recently reported by us for systolic BP and/or diastolic BP through gene-smoking interaction analysis and 38 were newly identified (P <5 x 10(-8), false discovery rate <0.05). We also identified nine new signals near known loci. Of the 136 loci, 8 showed significant interaction with smoking status. They include CSMD1 previously reported for insulin resistance and BP in the spontaneously hypertensive rats. Many of the 38 new loci show biologic plausibility for a role in BP regulation. SLC26A7 encodes a chloride/bicarbonate exchanger expressed in the renal outer medullary collecting duct. AVPR1A is widely expressed, including in vascular smooth muscle cells, kidney, myocardium and brain. FHAD1 is a long non-coding RNA overexpressed in heart failure. TMEM51 was associated with contractile function in cardiomyocytes. CASP9 plays a central role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Identified only in African ancestry were 30 novel loci. Our findings highlight the value of multi-ancestry investigations, particularly in studies of interaction with lifestyle factors, where genomic and lifestyle differences may contribute to novel findings.Peer reviewe

A Class of Poverty Indices.

A review of a number of well-known poverty indices shows that two axiomatic requirements to a pover ty index are never satisfied simultaneously. The choice between these two axioms depends on the nature of the poverty line. A class of pov erty indices is developed as an application of the Dalton and Atkinso n inequality to poverty measurement. Almost all other poverty indices are seen to be a member of the class. The formulation of this class clarifies the basic problems involved in poverty measurement. Copyright 1987 by Economics Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association.

The Definition and Measurement of Poverty

Both poverty research and social policy employ a variety of poverty definitions. The choice of one specific definition has major consequences for the resulting poverty population. This paper uses eight different definitions of poverty to determine who is poor, using a 1983 Dutch sample of more than 12,000 households. Poverty according to each of these definitions is compared over different subgroups. The relevance of the choice between definitions for social policy is shown by the presentation of poverty percentages according to the various definitions, which vary widely.

HOUSEHOLD COST FUNCTIONS AND THE VALUE OF HOME PRODUCTION IN ONE- AND TWO-EARNER FAMILIES

In a household, female labor force participation has important consequences for the household production processes. As a result of the decision to participate more money is coming into the household, but less time is available to spend on housework and leisure activities. The objective of this paper is to estimate household cost functions and the shodaw price assigned by households to housework. We assume that these concepts are significantly different in families where both spouses are participating in the labor force, and those where only one of them is participating. Hence they depend on the discrete choice of the household whether the female will participate or not. We describe the behavior of the household by means of two distinct r6gimes and an endogenous switchig equation explaning the participation decision. Some of the basic determinants of the participation decision are: number of children at home, the age of the female and the income opportunities for the female. The two rftimes are both described by the simultaneous equation model explaning the labor supply, the hours spent on household work by both partners and the shadow price assigned to housework. The model is estimated on a large data base containing 4000 households, collected in the Netherlands in 1983

Noncash Income, Living Standards, Inequality and Poverty: Evidence from the Luxembourg Income Study

Noncash income is defined in this paper to include the net value to individuals and families of education, health and housing benefits provided to them on a subsidised basis. These benefits may be provided by government, by employers or - in the case of imputed rental income on owner-occupied housing - by the household itself. This study estimates the value of these noncash benefits for seven countries (including Australia) using identical methods, and as far as practical, the same data sources. The estimates are then added to comparative measures of cash income produced as part of the Luxembourg Income Study (US) data base. Analysis is undertaken of the impact of noncash income on the relative living standards of different family types in each country, on the distribution of income and on the size and structure of relative poverty in each country. Sensitivity analysis is also undertaken in which the level of the poverty line is varied and its impact on poverty rates across families and across countries is ascertained. The main results of the study are summarised in a series of tables which detail its main finding that the impact of noncash income is best viewed in a life-cycle context, being greatest for families with children and for the elderly. The main groups whose relative position is worsened by the inclusion of noncash income are nonelderly single people and non-aged families without children