Large-scale GWAS identifies multiple loci for hand grip strength providing biological insights into muscular fitness

Hand grip strength is a widely used proxy of muscular fitness, a marker of frailty, and predictor of a range of morbidities and all-cause mortality. To investigate the genetic determinants of variation in grip strength, we perform a large-scale genetic discovery analysis in a combined sample of 195,180 individuals and identify 16 loci associated with grip strength (P<5 × 10−8) in combined analyses. A number of these loci contain genes implicated in structure and function of skeletal muscle fibres (ACTG1), neuronal maintenance and signal transduction (PEX14, TGFA, SYT1), or monogenic syndromes with involvement of psychomotor impairment (PEX14, LRPPRC and KANSL1). Mendelian randomization analyses are consistent with a causal effect of higher genetically predicted grip strength on lower fracture risk. In conclusion, our findings provide new biological insight into the mechanistic underpinnings of grip strength and the causal role of muscular strength in age-related morbidities and mortality.This research has been conducted using the UK Biobank Resource. The Fenland Study is supported by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) (MC_UU_12015/1; MC_UU_12015/2; MC_UU_12015/3). EPIC-Norfolk is supported by the MRC (G401527, G1000143) and Cancer Research UK (A8257). The HCS is gratefully supported by the University of Newcastle (Australia) and the Fairfax Family Foundation. Sydney MAS is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), grants ID568969, ID350833 and ID109308. Sydney MAS DNA was extracted by Genetic Repositories Australia, funded by NHMRC Enabling Grant 401184. The GEFOS Study, used as controls for the US and Jamaican athletes, was supported in part by NIH grants U01 HG004436 and P30 DK072488, and the Baltimore Geriatrics Research, Education, and Clinical Center of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research is an independent Research Center at the University of Copenhagen partially funded by an unrestricted donation from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (www.metabol.ku.dk). TwinsUK was funded by the Wellcome Trust (WT), MRC, and European Union. The study also receives support from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource Clinical Research Facility and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. SNP Genotyping was performed by The WT Sanger Institute and National Eye Institute via NIH/CIDR. M.McC is a WT Senior Investigator and receives support from WT 090532 and 098381. TW is the recipient of a studentship from MedImmune. Research by A. Lucia is supported by Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias and Fondos Feder (grant # PI15/0558). EM-M. was a recipient of a Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellow from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. This work was supported in part by grants from the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (15H03081 to NF) of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and by a grant-in-aid for scientific research (to M. Miyachi) from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. This work was further supported by NIH grants R01 AR41398 and U24 AG051129

The Early Growth Genetics (EGG) and EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortia: design, results and future prospects

The impact of many unfavorable childhood traits or diseases, such as low birth weight and mental disorders, is not limited to childhood and adolescence, as they are also associated with poor outcomes in adulthood, such as cardiovascular disease. Insight into the genetic etiology of childhood and adolescent traits and disorders may therefore provide new perspectives, not only on how to improve wellbeing during childhood, but also how to prevent later adverse outcomes. To achieve the sample sizes required for genetic research, the Early Growth Genetics (EGG) and EArly Genetics and Lifecourse Epidemiology (EAGLE) consortia were established. The majority of the participating cohorts are longitudinal population-based samples, but other cohorts with data on early childhood phenotypes are also involved. Cohorts often have a broad focus and collect(ed) data on various somatic and psychiatric traits as well as environmental factors. Genetic variants have been successfully identified for multiple traits, for example, birth weight, atopic dermatitis, childhood BMI, allergic sensitization, and pubertal growth. Furthermore, the results have shown that genetic factors also partly underlie the association with adult traits. As sample sizes are still increasing, it is expected that future analyses will identify additional variants. This, in combination with the development of innovative statistical methods, will provide detailed insight on the mechanisms underlying the transition from childhood to adult disorders. Both consortia welcome new collaborations. Policies and contact details are available from the corresponding authors of this manuscript and/or the consortium websites