Meta-analysis of genome-wide association data identifies two loci influencing age at menarche

Abstract

We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data to detect genes influencing age at menarche in 17,510 women. The strongest signal was at 9q31.2 (P = 1.7 × 10(-9)), where the nearest genes include TMEM38B, FKTN, FSD1L, TAL2 and ZNF462. The next best signal was near the LIN28B gene (rs7759938; P = 7.0 × 10(-9)), which also influences adult height. We provide the first evidence for common genetic variants influencing female sexual maturation.

Figure 1

Genomic context (based on NCBI B36) of the top two independent signals at 9q31.2 and 6q21 plotted against association −log₁₀ P values. Only UCSC Refseq genes are shown. r² between each SNP and the top signal is color coded:> 0.8, red; 0.5–0.8, orange; 0.2–0.5, yellow; < 0.2, unfilled. Blue represents SNP with lowest P value. Chromosome positions are based on build hg18.