Measures of the size and composition of the human body (such as body mass index or waist to hip ratio) are heritable and associated with many diseases. Similarly, measures of the quantity and composition of fats in the bloodstream (such as total cholesterol) are heritable and predispose to disease. Understanding the genetics of these traits would help understand the biology of body composition and blood fat traits, and would help understand how and why these traits relate to disease.
Two large international consortia have been formed to perform studies on the genetics of measures of the human body (the GIANT consortium) and measures of blood fats (GLGC). These consortia successfully identified a large number of genetic variants which influence these traits and published findings between 2013 and 2015.
Since then, newer methods have been developed which have improved our ability to look at rare genetic variants.
GIANT and GLGC have requested new analysis. This will improve the original analysis by
a) including analysis of rarer genetic variants; b) increasing the sample size to approximately one million participants and c) allow better understanding of the genetics of body composition and blood fats in different ethnic groups.
This project aims to undertake analysis in ALSPAC on behalf of GIANT and GLGC, allowing ALSPAC to contribute to this important research.