GWAS on longitudinal growth traits reveals different genetic factors influencing infant, child, and adult BMI.
Creators: name: Couto Alves, Alexessander
name: De Silva, N Maneka G
name: Karhunen, Ville
name: Sovio, Ulla
name: Das, Shikta
name: Taal, H Rob
name: Warrington, Nicole M
name: Lewin, Alexandra M
name: Kaakinen, Marika
name: Cousminer, Diana L
name: Thiering, Elisabeth
name: Timpson, Nicholas J
name: Bond, Tom A
name: Lowry, Estelle
name: Brown, Christopher D
name: Estivill, Xavier
name: Lindi, Virpi
name: Bradfield, Jonathan P
name: Geller, Frank
name: Speed, Doug
name: Coin, Lachlan J M
name: Loh, Marie
name: Barton, Sheila J
name: Beilin, Lawrence J
name: Bisgaard, Hans
name: Bønnelykke, Klaus
name: Alili, Rohia
name: Hatoum, Ida J
name: Schramm, Katharina
name: Cartwright, Rufus
name: Charles, Marie-Aline
name: Salerno, Vincenzo
name: Clément, Karine
name: Claringbould, Annique A J
name: Van Duijn, Cornelia M
name: Moltchanova, Elena
name: Eriksson, Johan G
name: Elks, Cathy
name: Feenstra, Bjarke
name: Flexeder, Claudia
name: Franks, Stephen
name: Frayling, Timothy M
name: Freathy, Rachel M
name: Elliott, Paul
name: Widén, Elisabeth
name: Hakonarson, Hakon
name: Hattersley, Andrew T
name: Rodriguez, Alina
name: Banterle, Marco
name: Heinrich, Joachim
name: Heude, Barbara
name: Holloway, John W
name: Hofman, Albert
name: Hyppönen, Elina
name: Inskip, Hazel
name: Kaplan, Lee M
name: Hedman, Asa K
name: Läärä, Esa
name: Prokisch, Holger
name: Grallert, Harald
name: Lakka, Timo A
name: Lawlor, Debbie A
name: Melbye, Mads
name: Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S
name: Marinelli, Marcella
name: Millwood, Iona Y
name: Palmer, Lyle J
name: Pennell, Craig E
name: Perry, John R
name: Ring, Susan M
name: Savolainen, Markku J
name: Rivadeneira, Fernando
name: Standl, Marie
name: Sunyer, Jordi
name: Tiesler, Carla M T
name: Uitterlinden, Andre G
name: Schierding, William
name: O'Sullivan, Justin M
name: Prokopenko, Inga
name: Herzig, Karl-Heinz
name: Smith, George Davey
name: O'Reilly, Paul
name: Felix, Janine F
name: Buxton, Jessica L
name: Blakemore, Alexandra I F
name: Ong, Ken K
name: Jaddoe, Vincent W V
name: Grant, Struan F A
name: Sebert, Sylvain
name: McCarthy, Mark I
name: Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta
Publisher: name: Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Year: 2019

description: Early childhood growth patterns are associated with adult health, yet the genetic factors and the developmental stages involved are not fully understood. Here, we combine genome-wide association studies with modeling of longitudinal growth traits to study the genetics of infant and child growth, followed by functional, pathway, genetic correlation, risk score, and colocalization analyses to determine how developmental timings, molecular pathways, and genetic determinants of these traits overlap with those of adult health. We found a robust overlap between the genetics of child and adult body mass index (BMI), with variants associated with adult BMI acting as early as 4 to 6 years old. However, we demonstrated a completely distinct genetic makeup for peak BMI during infancy, influenced by variation at the LEPR/LEPROT locus. These findings suggest that different genetic factors control infant and child BMI. In light of the obesity epidemic, these findings are important to inform the timing and targets of prevention strategies.