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Genetic diversity is a predictor of mortality in humans.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Bihlmeyer, NA; Brody, JA; Smith, AV; Lunetta, KL; Nalls, M; Smith, JA; Tanaka, T; Davies, G; Yu, L; Mirza, SS; Teumer, A; Coresh, J; Li, H ...
Published in: BMC Genet
December 29, 2014

BACKGROUND: It has been well-established, both by population genetics theory and direct observation in many organisms, that increased genetic diversity provides a survival advantage. However, given the limitations of both sample size and genome-wide metrics, this hypothesis has not been comprehensively tested in human populations. Moreover, the presence of numerous segregating small effect alleles that influence traits that directly impact health directly raises the question as to whether global measures of genomic variation are themselves associated with human health and disease. RESULTS: We performed a meta-analysis of 17 cohorts followed prospectively, with a combined sample size of 46,716 individuals, including a total of 15,234 deaths. We find a significant association between increased heterozygosity and survival (P = 0.03). We estimate that within a single population, every standard deviation of heterozygosity an individual has over the mean decreases that person's risk of death by 1.57%. CONCLUSIONS: This effect was consistent between European and African ancestry cohorts, men and women, and major causes of death (cancer and cardiovascular disease), demonstrating the broad positive impact of genomic diversity on human survival.

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Published In

BMC Genet

DOI

EISSN

1471-2156

Publication Date

December 29, 2014

Volume

15

Start / End Page

159

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Mortality
  • Humans
  • Heterozygote
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Genetics & Heredity
  • 3105 Genetics
  • 0604 Genetics
 

Citation

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Bihlmeyer, N. A., Brody, J. A., Smith, A. V., Lunetta, K. L., Nalls, M., Smith, J. A., … Arking, D. E. (2014). Genetic diversity is a predictor of mortality in humans. BMC Genet, 15, 159. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-014-0159-7
Bihlmeyer, Nathan A., Jennifer A. Brody, Albert Vernon Smith, Kathryn L. Lunetta, Mike Nalls, Jennifer A. Smith, Toshiko Tanaka, et al. “Genetic diversity is a predictor of mortality in humans.BMC Genet 15 (December 29, 2014): 159. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12863-014-0159-7.
Bihlmeyer NA, Brody JA, Smith AV, Lunetta KL, Nalls M, Smith JA, et al. Genetic diversity is a predictor of mortality in humans. BMC Genet. 2014 Dec 29;15:159.
Bihlmeyer, Nathan A., et al. “Genetic diversity is a predictor of mortality in humans.BMC Genet, vol. 15, Dec. 2014, p. 159. Pubmed, doi:10.1186/s12863-014-0159-7.
Bihlmeyer NA, Brody JA, Smith AV, Lunetta KL, Nalls M, Smith JA, Tanaka T, Davies G, Yu L, Mirza SS, Teumer A, Coresh J, Pankow JS, Franceschini N, Scaria A, Oshima J, Psaty BM, Gudnason V, Eiriksdottir G, Harris TB, Li H, Karasik D, Kiel DP, Garcia M, Liu Y, Faul JD, Kardia SL, Zhao W, Ferrucci L, Allerhand M, Liewald DC, Redmond P, Starr JM, De Jager PL, Evans DA, Direk N, Ikram MA, Uitterlinden A, Homuth G, Lorbeer R, Grabe HJ, Launer L, Murabito JM, Singleton AB, Weir DR, Bandinelli S, Deary IJ, Bennett DA, Tiemeier H, Kocher T, Lumley T, Arking DE. Genetic diversity is a predictor of mortality in humans. BMC Genet. 2014 Dec 29;15:159.
Journal cover image

Published In

BMC Genet

DOI

EISSN

1471-2156

Publication Date

December 29, 2014

Volume

15

Start / End Page

159

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Mortality
  • Humans
  • Heterozygote
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Genetics & Heredity
  • 3105 Genetics
  • 0604 Genetics