RATIONALE: Albuterol, a bronchodilator medication, is the first-line therapy for asthma worldwide. There are significant racial/ethnic differences in albuterol drug response.
OBJECTIVES: To identify genetic variants important for bronchodilator drug response (BDR) in racially diverse children.
METHODS: We performed the first whole-genome sequencing pharmacogenetics study from 1,441 children with asthma from the tails of the BDR distribution to identify genetic association with BDR.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We identified population-specific and shared genetic variants associated with BDR, including genome-wide significant (P \u3c 3.53 × 10
CONCLUSIONS: The lack of minority data, despite a collaboration of eight universities and 13 individual laboratories, highlights the urgent need for a dedicated national effort to prioritize diversity in research. Our study expands the understanding of pharmacogenetic analyses in racially/ethnically diverse populations and advances the foundation for precision medicine in at-risk and understudied minority populations
