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Meta-Analysis
. 2010 May;65(5):478-87.
doi: 10.1093/gerona/glq028. Epub 2010 Mar 18.

A meta-analysis of four genome-wide association studies of survival to age 90 years or older: the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium

Anne B Newman  1 , Stefan Walter, Kathryn L Lunetta, Melissa E Garcia, P Eline Slagboom, Kaare Christensen, Alice M Arnold, Thor Aspelund, Yurii S Aulchenko, Emelia J Benjamin, Lene Christiansen, Ralph B D'Agostino Sr, Annette L Fitzpatrick, Nora Franceschini, Nicole L Glazer, Vilmundur Gudnason, Albert Hofman, Robert Kaplan, David Karasik, Margaret Kelly-Hayes, Douglas P Kiel, Lenore J Launer, Kristin D Marciante, Joseph M Massaro, Iva Miljkovic, Michael A Nalls, Dena Hernandez, Bruce M Psaty, Fernando Rivadeneira, Jerome Rotter, Sudha Seshadri, Albert V Smith, Kent D Taylor, Henning Tiemeier, Hae-Won Uh, André G Uitterlinden, James W Vaupel, Jeremy Walston, Rudi G J Westendorp, Tamara B Harris, Thomas Lumley, Cornelia M van Duijn, Joanne M Murabito
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

A meta-analysis of four genome-wide association studies of survival to age 90 years or older: the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium

Anne B Newman et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2010 May.

Abstract

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) may yield insights into longevity.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of GWAS in Caucasians from four prospective cohort studies: the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study, the Cardiovascular Health Study, the Framingham Heart Study, and the Rotterdam Study participating in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. Longevity was defined as survival to age 90 years or older (n = 1,836); the comparison group comprised cohort members who died between the ages of 55 and 80 years (n = 1,955). In a second discovery stage, additional genotyping was conducted in the Leiden Longevity Study cohort and the Danish 1905 cohort.

Results: There were 273 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations with p < .0001, but none reached the prespecified significance level of 5 x 10(-8). Of the most significant SNPs, 24 were independent signals, and 16 of these SNPs were successfully genotyped in the second discovery stage, with one association for rs9664222, reaching 6.77 x 10(-7) for the combined meta-analysis of CHARGE and the stage 2 cohorts. The SNP lies in a region near MINPP1 (chromosome 10), a well-conserved gene involved in regulation of cellular proliferation. The minor allele was associated with lower odds of survival past age 90 (odds ratio = 0.82). Associations of interest in a homologue of the longevity assurance gene (LASS3) and PAPPA2 were not strengthened in the second stage.

Conclusion: Survival studies of larger size or more extreme or specific phenotypes may support or refine these initial findings.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Quantile–quantile plot for the 2,287,520 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the meta-analysis of survival to age 90 years or older.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Plot of genome-wide association study for longevity meta-analysis (persons surviving to age ≥90 years, n = 1,836, and comparison group, n = 1,955) showing the −log10 (p values) based on the fixed-effects meta-analysis by chromosome. Line indicates threshold for genome-wide significance of 5 × 10−8.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Study-specific odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals for MINPP1 (rs9664222) longevity association.Note: AGES-Reykjavik = Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study; CHS = Cardiovascular Health Study; FHS = Framingham Heart Study.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Regional plot for rs9664222 near MINPP1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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