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Browsing by Author "Thursz, Mark R."
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Item A genetic risk score and diabetes predict development of alcohol-related cirrhosis in drinkers(Elsevier, 2022) Whitfield, John B.; Schwantes-An, Tae-Hwi; Darlay, Rebecca; Aithal, Guruprasad P.; Atkinson, Stephen R.; Bataller, Ramon; Botwin, Greg; Chalasani, Naga P.; Cordell, Heather J.; Daly, Ann K.; Day, Christopher P.; Eyer, Florian; Foroud, Tatiana; Gleeson, Dermot; Goldman, David; Haber, Paul S.; Jacquet, Jean-Marc; Liang, Tiebing; Liangpunsakul, Suthat; Masson, Steven; Mathurin, Philippe; Moirand, Romain; McQuillin, Andrew; Moreno, Christophe; Morgan, Marsha Y.; Mueller, Sebastian; Müllhaupt, Beat; Nagy, Laura E.; Nahon, Pierre; Nalpas, Bertrand; Naveau, Sylvie; Perney, Pascal; Pirmohamed, Munir; Seitz, Helmut K.; Soyka, Michael; Stickel, Felix; Thompson, Andrew; Thursz, Mark R.; Trépo, Eric; Morgan, Timothy R.; Seth, Devanshi; GenomALC Consortium; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of MedicineBackground & aims: Only a minority of excess alcohol drinkers develop cirrhosis. We developed and evaluated risk stratification scores to identify those at highest risk. Methods: Three cohorts (GenomALC-1: n = 1,690, GenomALC-2: n = 3,037, UK Biobank: relevant n = 6,898) with a history of heavy alcohol consumption (≥80 g/day (men), ≥50 g/day (women), for ≥10 years) were included. Cases were participants with alcohol-related cirrhosis. Controls had a history of similar alcohol consumption but no evidence of liver disease. Risk scores were computed from up to 8 genetic loci identified previously as associated with alcohol-related cirrhosis and 3 clinical risk factors. Score performance for the stratification of alcohol-related cirrhosis risk was assessed and compared across the alcohol-related liver disease spectrum, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Results: A combination of 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (PNPLA3:rs738409, SUGP1-TM6SF2:rs10401969, HSD17B13:rs6834314) and diabetes status best discriminated cirrhosis risk. The odds ratios (ORs) and (95% CIs) between the lowest (Q1) and highest (Q5) score quintiles of the 3-SNP score, based on independent allelic effect size estimates, were 5.99 (4.18-8.60) (GenomALC-1), 2.81 (2.03-3.89) (GenomALC-2), and 3.10 (2.32-4.14) (UK Biobank). Patients with diabetes and high risk scores had ORs of 14.7 (7.69-28.1) (GenomALC-1) and 17.1 (11.3-25.7) (UK Biobank) compared to those without diabetes and with low risk scores. Patients with cirrhosis and HCC had significantly higher mean risk scores than patients with cirrhosis alone (0.76 ± 0.06 vs. 0.61 ± 0.02, p = 0.007). Score performance was not significantly enhanced by information on additional genetic risk variants, body mass index or coffee consumption. Conclusions: A risk score based on 3 genetic risk variants and diabetes status enables the stratification of heavy drinkers based on their risk of cirrhosis, allowing for the provision of earlier preventative interventions. Lay summary: Excessive chronic drinking leads to cirrhosis in some people, but so far there is no way to identify those at high risk of developing this debilitating disease. We developed a genetic risk score that can identify patients at high risk. The risk of cirrhosis is increased >10-fold with just two risk factors - diabetes and a high genetic risk score. Risk assessment using this test could enable the early and personalised management of this disease in high-risk patients.Item Genome-wide meta-analysis of problematic alcohol use in 435,563 individuals yields insights into biology and relationships with other traits(Nature, 2020-07) Zhou, Hang; Sealock, Julia M.; Sanchez-Roige, Sandra; Clarke, Toni-Kim; Levey, Daniel F.; Cheng, Zhongshan; Li, Boyang; Polimanti, Renato; Kember, Rachel L.; Smith, Rachel Vickers; Thygesen, Johan H.; Morgan, Marsha Y.; Atkinson, Stephen R.; Thursz, Mark R.; Nyegaard, Mette; Mattheisen, Manuel; Børglum, Anders D.; Johnson, Emma C.; Justice, Amy C.; Palmer, Abraham A.; McQuillin, Andrew; Davis, Lea K.; Edenberg, Howard J.; Agrawal, Arpana; Kranzler, Henry R.; Gelernter, Joel; Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of MedicineProblematic alcohol use (PAU) is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Although genome-wide association studies have identified PAU risk genes, the genetic architecture of this trait is not fully understood. We conducted a proxy-phenotype meta-analysis of PAU, combining alcohol use disorder and problematic drinking, in 435,563 European-ancestry individuals. We identified 29 independent risk variants, 19 of them novel. PAU was genetically correlated with 138 phenotypes, including substance use and psychiatric traits. Phenome-wide polygenic risk score analysis in an independent biobank sample (BioVU, n = 67,589) confirmed the genetic correlations between PAU and substance use and psychiatric disorders. Genetic heritability of PAU was enriched in brain and in conserved and regulatory genomic regions. Mendelian randomization suggested causal effects on liability to PAU of substance use, psychiatric status, risk-taking behavior and cognitive performance. In summary, this large PAU meta-analysis identified novel risk loci and revealed genetic relationships with numerous other traits.