Differential Susceptibility to Hypertension Is Due to Selection during the Out-of-Africa Expansion

Hypertension is a leading cause of stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure. The genetic basis of blood pressure variation is largely unknown but is likely to involve genes that influence renal salt handling and arterial vessel tone. Here we argue that susceptibility to hypertension is ancestral and that differential susceptibility to hypertension is due to differential exposure to selection pressures during the out-of-Africa expansion. The most important selection pressure was climate, which produced a latitudinal cline in heat adaptation and, therefore, hypertension susceptibility. Consistent with this hypothesis, we show that ecological variables, such as latitude, temperature, and rainfall, explain worldwide variation in heat adaptation as defined by seven functional alleles in five genes involved in blood pressure regulation. The latitudinal cline in heat adaptation is consistent worldwide and is largely unmatched by latitudinal clines in short tandem repeat markers, control single nucleotide polymorphisms, or non-functional single nucleotide polymorphisms within the five genes. In addition, we show that latitude and one of these alleles, GNB3 (G protein β3 subunit) 825T, account for a major portion of worldwide variation in blood pressure. These results suggest that the current epidemic of hypertension is due to exposures of the modern period interacting with ancestral susceptibility. Modern populations differ in susceptibility to these new exposures, however, such that those from hot environments are more susceptible to hypertension than populations from cold environments. This differential susceptibility is likely due to our history of adaptation to climate

Comparison of trauma systems in Asian countries: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the demographic characteristics and trauma service structures and processes of hospitals in 15 countries across the Asia Pacific, and to provide baseline data for the integrated trauma database: the Pan-Asian Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS). METHODS: Medical directors and emergency physicians at PATOS-participating hospitals in countries across the Asia Pacific were surveyed through a standardized questionnaire. General information, trauma care system data, and trauma emergency department (ED) outcomes at each hospital were collected by email and analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Survey data from 35 hospitals across 15 countries were collected from archived data between June 2014 and July 2015. Designated trauma centers were identified as the highest hospital level for trauma patients in 70% of surveyed countries. Half of the hospitals surveyed had special teams for trauma care, and almost all prepared activation protocol documents for these teams. Most hospitals offered specialized trauma education programs, and 72.7% of hospitals had a hospital-based trauma registry. The total number of trauma patients visiting the ED across 25 of the hospitals was 300,376. The overall survival-to-discharge rate was 97.2%; however, it varied greatly between 85.1% and 99.7%. The difference between survival-to-discharge rates of moderate and severe injury groups was highest in Taiwan (41.8%) and lowest in Thailand (18.6%). CONCLUSION: Trauma care systems and ED outcomes vary widely among surveyed hospitals and countries. This information is useful to build further detailed, systematic platforms for trauma surveillance and evidence-based trauma care policies

Comparison of trauma systems in Asian countries: a cross-sectional study

Objective This study aimed to compare the demographic characteristics and trauma service structures and processes of hospitals in 15 countries across the Asia Pacific, and to provide baseline data for the integrated trauma database: the Pan-Asian Trauma Outcomes Study (PATOS). Methods Medical directors and emergency physicians at PATOS-participating hospitals in countries across the Asia Pacific were surveyed through a standardized questionnaire. General information, trauma care system data, and trauma emergency department (ED) outcomes at each hospital were collected by email and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Survey data from 35 hospitals across 15 countries were collected from archived data between June 2014 and July 2015. Designated trauma centers were identified as the highest hospital level for trauma patients in 70% of surveyed countries. Half of the hospitals surveyed had special teams for trauma care, and almost all prepared activation protocol documents for these teams. Most hospitals offered specialized trauma education programs, and 72.7% of hospitals had a hospital-based trauma registry. The total number of trauma patients visiting the ED across 25 of the hospitals was 300,376. The overall survival-to-discharge rate was 97.2%; however, it varied greatly between 85.1% and 99.7%. The difference between survival-to-discharge rates of moderate and severe injury groups was highest in Taiwan (41.8%) and lowest in Thailand (18.6%). Conclusion Trauma care systems and ED outcomes vary widely among surveyed hospitals and countries. This information is useful to build further detailed, systematic platforms for trauma surveillance and evidence-based trauma care policies

Worldwide Distribution of the 53 Populations of the CEPH Human Genome Diversity Cell Line Panel

<p>Worldwide Distribution of the 53 Populations of the CEPH Human Genome Diversity Cell Line Panel</p

Heat Adaptation, <i>AGT G-217A,</i> and <i>ENaCγ</i> Are Strongly Associated with Heat Stress in Africa

<p>Heat Adaptation, <i>AGT G-217A,</i> and <i>ENaCγ</i> Are Strongly Associated with Heat Stress in Africa</p

Epidemiologic Model Relating Absolute Latitude and Population-Average <i>GNB3 825T</i> Frequency with Each Other and with Population-Average Systolic Blood Pressure among 35 INTERSALT Populations with Matching Genotype Data

<p>The β coefficients represent those in the models listed in <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.0010082#pgen-0010082-t003" target="_blank">Table 3</a>.</p

Histogram of β Coefficients for the Association of Absolute Latitude with Functional Genotypes, Neutral STR Markers, and Control SNPs for the 53 Populations of the CEPH HGDP Cell Line Panel

<p>Histogram of β Coefficients for the Association of Absolute Latitude with Functional Genotypes, Neutral STR Markers, and Control SNPs for the 53 Populations of the CEPH HGDP Cell Line Panel</p

Histogram of β Coefficients for the Association of Heat Stress with Functional Genotypes, Neutral STR Markers, and Control SNPs for the Seven African populations of the CEPH HGDP Cell Line Panel

<p>Histogram of β Coefficients for the Association of Heat Stress with Functional Genotypes, Neutral STR Markers, and Control SNPs for the Seven African populations of the CEPH HGDP Cell Line Panel</p