Browsing by Author "Thorleifsson, Gudmar"

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    Disentangling the genetics of lean mass
    (Oxford University Press, 2019-02-01) Karasik, David; Zillikens, M. Carola; Hsu, Yi-Hsiang; Aghdassi, Ali; Akesson, Kristina; Amin, Najaf; Barroso, Inês; Bennett, David A.; Bertram, Lars; Bochud, Murielle; Borecki, Ingrid B.; Broer, Linda; Buchman, Aron S.; Byberg, Liisa; Campbell, Harry; Campos-Obando, Natalia; Cauley, Jane A.; Cawthon, Peggy M.; Chambers, John C.; Chen, Zhao; Cho, Nam H.; Choi, Hyung Jin; Chou, Wen-Chi; Cummings, Steven R.; De Groot, Lisette C. P. G. M.; De Jager, Phillip L.; Demuth, Ilja; Diatchenko, Luda; Econs, Michael J.; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Enneman, Anke W.; Eriksson, Joel; Eriksson, Johan G.; Estrada, Karol; Evans, Daniel S.; Feitosa, Mary F.; Fu, Mao; Gieger, Christian; Grallert, Harald; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Lenore, Launer J.; Hayward, Caroline; Hofman, Albert; Homuth, Georg; Huffman, Kim M.; Husted, Lise B.; Illig, Thomas; Ingelsson, Erik; Ittermann, Till; Jansson, John-Olov; Johnson, Toby; Biffar, Reiner; Jordan, Joanne M.; Jula, Antti; Karlsson, Magnus; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O.; Klopp, Norman; Kloth, Jacqueline S. L.; Koller, Daniel L.; Kooner, Jaspal S.; Kraus, William E.; Kritchevsky, Stephen; Kutalik, Zoltán; Kuulasmaa, Teemu; Kuusisto, Johanna; Laakso, Markku; Lahti, Jari; Lang, Thomas; Langdahl, Bente L.; Lerch, Markus M.; Lewis, Joshua R.; Lill, Christina; Lind, Lars; Lindgren, Cecilia; Liu, Yongmei; Livshits, Gregory; Ljunggren, Östen; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Lorentzon, Mattias; Luan, Jian'an; Luben, Robert N.; Malkin, Ida; McGuigan, Fiona E.; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Meitinger, Thomas; Melhus, Håkan; Mellström, Dan; Michaëlsson, Karl; Mitchell, Braxton D.; Morris, Andrew P.; Mosekilde, Leif; Nethander, Maria; Newman, Anne B.; O'Connell, Jeffery R.; Oostra, Ben A.; Orwoll, Eric S.; Palotie, Aarno; Peacock, Munro; Perola, Markus; Peters, Annette; Prince, Richard L.; Psaty, Bruce M.; Räikkönen, Katri; Ralston, Stuart H.; Ripatti, Samuli; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Robbins, John A.; Rotter, Jerome I.; Rudan, Igor; Salomaa, Veikko; Satterfield, Suzanne; Schipf, Sabine; Shin, Chan Soo; Smith, Albert V.; Smith, Shad B.; Soranzo, Nicole; Spector, Timothy D.; Stančáková, Alena; Stefansson, Kari; Steinhagen-Thiessen, Elisabeth; Stolk, Lisette; Streeten, Elizabeth A.; Styrkarsdottir, Unnur; Swart, Karin M. A.; Thompson, Patricia; Thomson, Cynthia A.; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Tikkanen, Emmi; Tranah, Gregory J.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Van Schoor, Natasja M.; Vandenput, Liesbeth; Vollenweider, Peter; Völzke, Henry; Wactawski-Wende, Jean; Walker, Mark; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Waterworth, Dawn; Weedon, Michael N.; Wichmann, H-Erich.; Widen, Elisabeth; Williams, Frances M. K.; Wilson, James F.; Wright, Nicole C.; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M.; Yu, Lei; Zhang, Weihua; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zhou, Yanhua; Nielson, Carrie M.; Harris, Tamara B.; Demissie, Serkalem; Kiel, Douglas P.; Ohlsson, Claes; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Background: Lean body mass (LM) plays an important role in mobility and metabolic function. We previously identified five loci associated with LM adjusted for fat mass in kilograms. Such an adjustment may reduce the power to identify genetic signals having an association with both lean mass and fat mass. Objectives: To determine the impact of different fat mass adjustments on genetic architecture of LM and identify additional LM loci. Methods: We performed genome-wide association analyses for whole-body LM (20 cohorts of European ancestry with n = 38,292) measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) or bioelectrical impedance analysis, adjusted for sex, age, age2, and height with or without fat mass adjustments (Model 1 no fat adjustment; Model 2 adjustment for fat mass as a percentage of body mass; Model 3 adjustment for fat mass in kilograms). Results: Seven single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in separate loci, including one novel LM locus (TNRC6B), were successfully replicated in an additional 47,227 individuals from 29 cohorts. Based on the strengths of the associations in Model 1 vs Model 3, we divided the LM loci into those with an effect on both lean mass and fat mass in the same direction and refer to those as "sumo wrestler" loci (FTO and MC4R). In contrast, loci with an impact specifically on LM were termed "body builder" loci (VCAN and ADAMTSL3). Using existing available genome-wide association study databases, LM increasing alleles of SNPs in sumo wrestler loci were associated with an adverse metabolic profile, whereas LM increasing alleles of SNPs in "body builder" loci were associated with metabolic protection. Conclusions: In conclusion, we identified one novel LM locus (TNRC6B). Our results suggest that a genetically determined increase in lean mass might exert either harmful or protective effects on metabolic traits, depending on its relation to fat mass.
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    Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior
    (Nature, 2016-10) Barban, Nicola; Jansen, Rick; de Vlaming, Ronald; Vaez, Ahmad; Mandemakers, Jornt J.; Tropf, Felix C.; Shen, Xia; Wilson, James F.; Chasman, Daniel I.; Nolte, Ilja M.; Tragante, Vinicius; van der Laan, Sander W.; Perry, John R. B.; Kong, Augustine; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer; Albrecht, Eva; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura; Atzmon, Gil; Auro, Kirsi; Ayers, Kristin; Bakshi, Andrew; Ben-Avraham, Danny; Berger, Klaus; Bergman, Aviv; Bertram, Lars; Bielak, Lawrence F.; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Bonder, Marc Jan; Broer, Linda; Bui, Minh; Barbieri, Caterina; Cavadino, Alana; Chavarro, Jorge E; Turman, Constance; Concas, Maria Pina; Cordell, Heather J.; Davies, Gail; Eibich, Peter; Eriksson, Nicholas; Esko, Tõnu; Eriksson, Joel; Falahi, Fahimeh; Felix, Janine F.; Fontana, Mark Alan; Franke, Lude; Gandin, Ilaria; Gaskins, Audrey J.; Gieger, Christian; Gunderson, Erica P.; Guo, Xiuqing; Hayward, Caroline; He, Chunyan; Hofer, Edith; Huang, Hongyan; Joshi, Peter K.; Kanoni, Stavroula; Karlsson, Robert; Kiechl, Stefan; Kifley, Annette; Kluttig, Alexander; Kraft, Peter; Lagou, Vasiliki; Lecoeur, Cecile; Lahti, Jari; Li-Gao, Ruifang; Lind, Penelope A.; Liu, Tian; Makalic, Enes; Mamasoula, Crysovalanto; Matteson, Lindsay; Mbarek, Hamdi; McArdle, Patrick F.; McMahon, George; Meddens, S. Fleur W.; Mihailov, Evelin; Miller, Mike; Missmer, Stacey A.; Monnereau, Claire; van der Most, Peter J.; Myhre, Ronny; Nalls, Mike A.; Nutile, Teresa; Panagiota, Kalafati Ioanna; Porcu, Eleonora; Prokopenko, Inga; Rajan, Kumar B.; Rich-Edwards, Janet; Rietveld, Cornelius A.; Robino, Antonietta; Rose, Lynda M.; Rueedi, Rico; Ryan, Kathy; Saba, Yasaman; Schmidt, Daniel; Smith, Jennifer A.; Stolk, Lisette; Streeten, Elizabeth; Tonjes, Anke; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Ulivi, Sheila; Wedenoja, Juho; Wellman, Juergen; Willeit, Peter; Yao, Jie; Yengo, Loic; Zhao, Jing Hua; Zhao, Wei; Zhernakova, Daria V.; Amin, Najaf; Andrews, Howard; Balkau, Beverly; Barzilai, Nir; Bergmann, Sven; Biino, Ginevra; Bisgaard, Hans; Bønnelykke, Klaus; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Buring, Julie E.; Campbell, Harry; Cappellani, Stefania; Ciullo, Marina; Cox, Simon R.; Cucca, Francesco; Daniela, Toniolo; Davey-Smith, George; Deary, Ian J.; Dedoussis, George; Deloukas, Panos; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; de Geus, Eco J. C.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Evans, Denis A.; Faul, Jessica D.; Felicita, Sala Cinzia; Froguel, Philippe; Gasparini, Paolo; Girotto, Giorgia; Grabe, Hans-Jörgen; Greiser, Karin Halina; Groenen, Patrick J. F.; de Haan, Hugoline G.; Haerting, Johannes; Harris, Tamara B.; Heath, Andrew C.; Heikkilä, Kauko; Hofman, Albert; Homuth, Georg; Holliday, Elizabeth G.; Hopper, John; Hypponen, Elina; Jacobsson, Bo; Jaddoe, Vincent W.; Johannesson, Magnus; Jugessur, Astanand; Kähönen, Mika; Kajantie, Eero; Kardia, Sharon L. R.; Keavney, Bernard; Kolcic, Ivana; Koponen, Päivikki; Kovacs, Peter; Kronenberg, Florian; Kutalik, Zoltan; La Bianca, Martina; Lachance, Genevieve; Iacono, William; Lai, Sandra; Lehtimäki, Terho; Liewald, David C.; Lindgren, Cecilia; Liu, Yongmei; Luben, Robert; Lucht, Michael; Luoto, Riitta; Magnus, Per; Magnusson, Patrik K. E.; Martin, Nicholas G.; McGue, Matt; McQuillan, Ruth; Medland, Sarah E.; Meisinger, Christa; Mellström, Dan; Metspalu, Andres; Michela, Traglia; Milani, Lili; Mitchell, Paul; Montgomery, Grant W.; Mook-Kanamori, Dennis; de Mutsert, Renée; Nohr, Ellen A.; Ohlsson, Claes; Olsen, Jørn; Ong, Ken K.; Paternoster, Lavinia; Pattie, Alison; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.; Perola, Markus; Peyser, Patricia A.; Pirastu, Mario; Polasek, Ozren; Power, Chris; Kaprio, Jaakko; Raffel, Leslie J.; Räikkönen, Katri; Raitakari, Olli; Ridker, Paul M.; Ring, Susan M.; Roll, Kathryn; Rudan, Igor; Ruggiero, Daniela; Rujescu, Dan; Salomaa, Veikko; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Helena; Schmidt, Reinhold; Schupf, Nicole; Smit, Johannes; Sorice, Rossella; Spector, Tim D.; Starr, John M.; Stöckl, Doris; Strauch, Konstantin; Stumvoll, Michael; Swertz, Morris A.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; Thurik, A. Roy; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Tönjes, Anke; Tung, Joyce Y.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Vaccargiu, Simona; Viikari, Jorma; Vitart, Veronique; Völzke, Henry; Vollenweider, Peter; Vuckovic, Dragana; Waage, Johannes; Wagner, Gert G.; Wang, Jie Jin; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Weir, David R.; Willemsen, Gonneke; Willeit, Johann; Wright, Alan F.; Zondervan, Krina T.; Stefannson, Kari; Krueger, Robert F.; Lee, James J.; Benjamin, Daniel J.; Cesarini, David; Koellinger, Philipp D.; den Hoed, Marcel; Snieder, Harold; Mills, Melinda C.; Department of Epidemiology, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior—age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)—has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the underlying mechanisms of AFB and NEB are poorly understood. We report a large genome-wide association study of both sexes including 251,151 individuals for AFB and 343,072 individuals for NEB. We identified 12 independent loci that are significantly associated with AFB and/or NEB in a SNP-based genome-wide association study and 4 additional loci associated in a gene-based effort. These loci harbor genes that are likely to have a role, either directly or by affecting non-local gene expression, in human reproduction and infertility, thereby increasing understanding of these complex traits.
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    Genome-wide association study identifies 48 common genetic variants associated with handedness
    (Springer Nature, 2021) Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel; Tung, Joyce Y.; Eriksson, Nicholas; Albrecht, Eva; Aliev, Fazil; Andreassen, Ole A.; Barroso, Inês; Beckmann, Jacques S.; Boks, Marco P.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Boyd, Heather A.; Breteler, Monique M. B.; Campbell, Harry; Chasman, Daniel I.; Cherkas, Lynn F.; Davies, Gail; de Geus, Eco J. C.; Deary, Ian J.; Deloukas, Panos; Dick, Danielle M.; Duffy, David L.; Eriksson, Johan G.; Esko, Tõnu; Feenstra, Bjarke; Geller, Frank; Gieger, Christian; Giegling, Ina; Gordon, Scott D.; Han, Jiali; Hansen, Thomas F.; Hartmann, Annette M.; Hayward, Caroline; Heikkilä, Kauko; Hicks, Andrew A.; Hirschhorn, Joel N.; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Huffman, Jennifer E.; Hwang, Liang-Dar; Ikram, M. Arfan; Kaprio, Jaakko; Kemp, John P.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Klopp, Norman; Konte, Bettina; Kutalik, Zoltan; Lahti, Jari; Li, Xin; Loos, Ruth J. F.; Luciano, Michelle; Magnusson, Sigurdur H.; Mangino, Massimo; Marques-Vidal, Pedro; Martin, Nicholas G.; McArdle, Wendy L.; McCarthy, Mark I.; Medina-Gomez, Carolina; Melbye, Mads; Melville, Scott A.; Metspalu, Andres; Milani, Lili; Mooser, Vincent; Nelis, Mari; Nyholt, Dale R.; O'Connell, Kevin S.; Ophoff, Roel A.; Palmer, Cameron; Palotie, Aarno; Palviainen, Teemu; Pare, Guillaume; Paternoster, Lavinia; Peltonen, Leena; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.; Polasek, Ozren; Pramstaller, Peter P.; Prokopenko, Inga; Raikkonen, Katri; Ripatti, Samuli; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Rudan, Igor; Rujescu, Dan; Smit, Johannes H.; Smith, George Davey; Smoller, Jordan W.; Soranzo, Nicole; Spector, Tim D.; St. Pourcain, Beate; Starr, John M.; Stefánsson, Hreinn; Steinberg, Stacy; Teder-Laving, Maris; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Stefánsson, Kári; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Uitterlinden, André G.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; van Rooij, Frank J. A.; Vink, Jaqueline M.; Vollenweider, Peter; Vuoksimaa, Eero; Waeber, Gérard; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Warrington, Nicole; Waterworth, Dawn; Werge, Thomas; Wichmann, H-Erich; Widen, Elisabeth; Willemsen, Gonneke; Wright, Alan F.; Wright, Margaret J.; Xu, Mousheng; Zhao, Jing Hua; Kraft, Peter; Hinds, David A.; Lindgren, Cecilia M.; Mägi, Reedik; Neale, Benjamin M.; Evans, David M.; Medland, Sarah E.; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Handedness has been extensively studied because of its relationship with language and the over-representation of left-handers in some neurodevelopmental disorders. Using data from the UK Biobank, 23andMe and the International Handedness Consortium, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of handedness (N = 1,766,671). We found 41 loci associated (P < 5 × 10-8) with left-handedness and 7 associated with ambidexterity. Tissue-enrichment analysis implicated the CNS in the aetiology of handedness. Pathways including regulation of microtubules and brain morphology were also highlighted. We found suggestive positive genetic correlations between left-handedness and neuropsychiatric traits, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Furthermore, the genetic correlation between left-handedness and ambidexterity is low (rG = 0.26), which implies that these traits are largely influenced by different genetic mechanisms. Our findings suggest that handedness is highly polygenic and that the genetic variants that predispose to left-handedness may underlie part of the association with some psychiatric disorders.
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    Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies eight new susceptibility loci for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
    (Nature Research, 2020-02-10) Sarin, Kavita Y.; Lin, Yuan; Daneshjou, Roxana; Ziyatdinov, Andrey; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Rubin, Adam; Pardo, Luba M.; Wu, Wenting; Khavari, Paul A.; Uitterlinden, Andre; Nijsten, Tamar; Toland, Amanda E.; Olafsson, Jon H.; Sigurgeirsson, Bardur; Thorisdottir, Kristin; Jorgensen, Eric; Whittemore, Alice S.; Kraft, Peter; Stacey, Simon N.; Stefansson, Kari; Asgari, Maryam M.; Han, Jiali; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is one of the most common cancers in the United States. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with cutaneous SCC. Here, we report the largest cutaneous SCC meta-analysis to date, representing six international cohorts and totaling 19,149 SCC cases and 680,049 controls. We discover eight novel loci associated with SCC, confirm all previously associated loci, and perform fine mapping of causal variants. The novel SNPs occur within skin-specific regulatory elements and implicate loci involved in cancer development, immune regulation, and keratinocyte differentiation in SCC susceptibility.
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    Parent-of-origin specific allelic associations among 106 genomic loci for age at menarche
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2014-10-02) Perry, John RB; Day, Felix; Elks, Cathy E.; Sulem, Patrick; Thompson, Deborah J.; Ferreira, Teresa; He, Chunyan; Chasman, Daniel I.; Esko, Tõnu; Thorleifsson, Gudmar; Albrecht, Eva; Ang, Wei Q.; Corre, Tanguy; Cousminer, Diana L.; Feenstra, Bjarke; Franceschini, Nora; Ganna, Andrea; Johnson, Andrew D.; Kjellqvist, Sanela; Lunetta, Kathryn L.; McMahon, George; Nolte, Ilja M.; Paternoster, Lavinia; Porcu, Eleonora; Smith, Albert V.; Stolk, Lisette; Teumer, Alexander; Tšernikova, Natalia; Tikkanen, Emmi; Ulivi, Sheila; Wagner, Erin K.; Amin, Najaf; Bierut, Laura J.; Byrne, Enda M.; Hottenga, Jouke-Jan; Koller, Daniel L.; Mangino, Massimo; Pers, Tune H.; Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M.; Zhao, Jing Hua; Andrulis, Irene L.; Anton-Culver, Hoda; Atsma, Femke; Bandinelli, Stefania; Beckmann, Matthias W.; Benitez, Javier; Blomqvist, Carl; Bojesen, Stig E.; Bolla, Manjeet K.; Bonanni, Bernardo; Brauch, Hiltrud; Brenner, Hermann; Buring, Julie E.; Chang-Claude, Jenny; Chanock, Stephen; Chen, Jinhui; Chenevix-Trench, Georgia; Collée, J. Margriet; Couch, Fergus J.; Couper, David; Coveillo, Andrea D.; Cox, Angela; Czene, Kamila; D’adamo, Adamo Pio; Smith, George Davey; De Vivo, Immaculata; Demerath, Ellen W.; Dennis, Joe; Devilee, Peter; Dieffenbach, Aida K.; Dunning, Alison M.; Eiriksdottir, Gudny; Eriksson, Johan G.; Fasching, Peter A.; Ferrucci, Luigi; Flesch-Janys, Dieter; Flyger, Henrik; Foroud, Tatiana; Franke, Lude; Garcia, Melissa E.; García-Closas, Montserrat; Geller, Frank; de Geus, Eco EJ; Giles, Graham G.; Gudbjartsson, Daniel F.; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Guénel, Pascal; Guo, Suiqun; Hall, Per; Hamann, Ute; Haring, Robin; Hartman, Catharina A.; Heath, Andrew C.; Hofman, Albert; Hooning, Maartje J.; Hopper, John L.; Hu, Frank B.; Hunter, David J.; Karasik, David; Kiel, Douglas P.; Knight, Julia A.; Kosma, Veli-Matti; Kutalik, Zoltan; Lai, Sandra; Lambrechts, Diether; Lindblom, Annika; Mägi, Reedik; Magnusson, Patrik K.; Mannermaa, Arto; Martin, Nicholas G.; Masson, Gisli; McArdle, Patrick F.; McArdle, Wendy L.; Melbye, Mads; Michailidou, Kyriaki; Mihailov, Evelin; Milani, Lili; Milne, Roger L.; Nevanlinna, Heli; Neven, Patrick; Nohr, Ellen A.; Oldehinkel, Albertine J.; Oostra, Ben A.; Palotie, Aarno; Peacock, Munro; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Peterlongo, Paolo; Peto, Julian; Pharoah, Paul DP; Postma, Dirkje S.; Pouta, Anneli; Pylkäs, Katri; Radice, Paolo; Ring, Susan; Rivadeneira, Fernando; Robino, Antonietta; Rose, Lynda M.; Rudolph, Anja; Salomaa, Veikko; Sanna, Serena; Schlessinger, David; Schmidt, Marjanka K.; Southey, Mellissa C.; Sovio, Ulla; Stampfer, Meir J.; Stöckl, Doris; Storniolo, Anna M.; Timpson, Nicholas J.; Tyrer, Jonathan; Visser, Jenny A.; Vollenweider, Peter; Völzke, Henry; Waeber, Gerard; Waldenberger, Melanie; Wallaschofski, Henri; Wang, Qin; Willemsen, Gonneke; Winqvist, Robert; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce HR; Wright, Margaret J.; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Econs, Michael J.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Loos, Ruth JF; McCarthy, Mark I.; Montgomery, Grant W.; Rice, John P.; Streeten, Elizabeth A.; Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z.; Bergmann, Sven; Boerwinkle, Eric; Boyd, Heather A.; Crisponi, Laura; Gasparini, Paolo; Gieger, Christian; Harris, Tamara B.; Ingelsson, Erik; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta; Kraft, Peter; Lawlor, Debbie; Metspalu, Andres; Pennell, Craig E.; Ridker, Paul M.; Snieder, Harold; Sørensen, Thorkild IA; Spector, Tim D.; Strachan, David P.; Uitterlinden, André G.; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Widen, Elisabeth; Zygmunt, Marek; Murray, Anna; Easton, Douglas F.; Stefansson, Kari; Murabito, Joanne M.; Ong, Ken K.; Department of Epidemiology, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Age at menarche is a marker of timing of puberty in females. It varies widely between individuals, is a heritable trait and is associated with risks for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and all-cause mortality. Studies of rare human disorders of puberty and animal models point to a complex hypothalamic-pituitary-hormonal regulation,, but the mechanisms that determine pubertal timing and underlie its links to disease risk remain unclear. Here, using genome-wide and custom-genotyping arrays in up to 182,416 women of European descent from 57 studies, we found robust evidence (P<5×10−8) for 123 signals at 106 genomic loci associated with age at menarche. Many loci were associated with other pubertal traits in both sexes, and there was substantial overlap with genes implicated in body mass index and various diseases, including rare disorders of puberty. Menarche signals were enriched in imprinted regions, with three loci (DLK1/WDR25, MKRN3/MAGEL2 and KCNK9) demonstrating parent-of-origin specific associations concordant with known parental expression patterns. Pathway analyses implicated nuclear hormone receptors, particularly retinoic acid and gamma-aminobutyric acid-B2 receptor signaling, among novel mechanisms that regulate pubertal timing in humans. Our findings suggest a genetic architecture involving at least hundreds of common variants in the coordinated timing of the pubertal transition.