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Recei ed 19 Ma 2016 |Accep ed 21 Sep 2016 |Published 23 No 2016
A p incipal componen me a-analysis on mul iple
an h opome ic ai s iden ifies no el loci o body
shape
Janina S. Ried and Janina M. Je e al.#
La ge conso ia ha e e ealed hund eds o gene ic loci associa ed wi h an h opome ic ai s,
one ai a a ime. We examined whe he gene ic a ian s a ec body shape as a composi e
pheno ype ha is ep esen ed by a combina ion o an h opome ic ai s. We de eloped an
app oach ha calcula es a e aged PCs (A PCs) ep esen ing body shape de i ed om
six an h opome ic ai s (body mass index, heigh , weigh , wais and hip ci cum e ence,
wais - o-hip a io). The fi s ou A PCs explain 499% o he a iabili y, a e he i able, and
associa e wi h ca diome abolic ou comes. We pe o med genome-wide associa ion analyses
o each body shape composi e pheno ype ac oss 65 s udies and me a-analysed summa y
s a is ics. We iden i y six no el loci: LEMD2 and CD47 o A PC1, RPS6KA5/C14o 159
and GANAB o A PC3, and ARL15 and ANP32 o A PC4. Ou findings highligh he alue o
using mul iple ai s o define complex pheno ypes o disco e y, which a e no cap u ed by
single- ai analyses, and may shed ligh on o new pa hways.
Co espondence and eques s o ma e ials should be add essed o M.M.-N. (email: [email p o ec ed])
o o R.L. (email: [email p o ec ed]).
#A ull lis o au ho s and hei a filia ions appea s a he end o he pape .
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 OPEN
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 7:13357 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 | www.na u e.com/na u ecommunica ions 1
La ge-scale me a-analyses o genome-wide associa ion s udies
(GWAS) ha e iden ified nume ous loci o an h opome ic
ai s, including mo e han 600 loci o heigh 1–3 and o e
160 loci o obesi y- ela ed ou comes, p edominan ly o
commonly a ailable ai s such as body mass index (BMI)2and
wais - o-hip a io (WHR)4,5, bu also o body a pe cen age6,
childhood obesi y7and ex eme and ea ly onse obesi y7–9. While
GWAS-me a-analyses ha e success ully e ealed new loci, so a ,
all hese s udies ha e ocused on one single an h opome ic ai
a a ime and may no adequa ely cap u e di e ences in body
shape be ween indi iduals who a e simila in one ai bu
di e en in o he s. Fo example, wo indi iduals may ha e he
same BMI, bu hei WHR and/o heigh can di e subs an ially,
so ha each has a di e en body shape, which may ansla e in o
di e ences in disease isk10,11. Se e al loci iden ified om
p e ious single- ai GWAS on BMI, BMI-adjus ed WHR
(WHRadjBMI) and heigh a e associa ed wi h mo e han one
an h opome ic ai 1,2,4,12. Fo example, he loci nea MC4R and
nea POMC/ADCY3 a e each associa ed wi h BMI and heigh .
Howe e , he BMI-inc easing allele o he nea -MC4R locus is
associa ed wi h inc eased heigh , whe eas he BMI-inc easing
allele o he nea -POMC/ADCY3 locus is associa ed wi h educed
heigh 1,2. Thus, hese loci a e likely each associa ed wi h a mo e
comp ehensi e body shape pheno ype ha is no cap u ed by
cu en GWAS ha only conside an h opome ic ai s
indi idually.
In ecen yea s, se e al app oaches ha e been de eloped
o examine whe he single-nucleo ide polymo phisms (SNPs)
influence mul iple co ela ed ai s associa ed wi h disease13,14.
Howe e , mos app oaches es pheno ypes sepa a ely and a e
hus subjec o mul iple es ing penal ies ha ul ima ely educe
he s a is ical powe o de ec geno ype–pheno ype ela ionships
among co ela ed ai s. One way o wa d is o apply a dimension
educ ion me hod o he ai s o in e es , such as p incipal
componen analysis (PCA) ha combines mul iple co ela ed
ai s in o a se o unco ela ed ou comes p incipal
componen s(p incipal componen s (PCs))15,16. This me hod is
e y appealing o cap u e a composi e pheno ype, such as body
shape. To da e, no la ge-scale GWAS me a-analyses ha e been
epo ed ha aim o iden i y gene ic loci associa ed wi h body
shape based on simul aneous analysis o mul iple an h opome ic
ai s using PCA me hods.
The e o e, he pu pose o ou s udy was wo old. Fi s , we
aimed o cap u e body shape in i s mul i-dimensional s uc u e
using PCs om se e al commonly a ailable an h opome ic
ai s. To allow he me a-analysis o summa y s a is ics ac oss a
la ge numbe o coho s, we de eloped an app oach ha
calcula es a e aged PCs (A PCs) ha obus ly ep esen body
shape ac oss a wide ange o s udies. Second, using his app oach,
we aimed o iden i y gene ic loci associa ed wi h body shape
based on he A PCs in 65 s udies o he GIANT Conso ium,
including 4170,000 indi iduals.
Resul s
Defining composi e pheno ypes o body shape. As basis o ou
analysis o body shape we used six an h opome ic ai s: BMI,
WHR, heigh , weigh , hip and wais ci cum e ence. Fi s , we
pe o med sepa a e PCA in a subse o 20 la ge popula ion-based
s udies (up o 82,355 indi iduals, Supplemen a y Table 1) and
compa ed he loadings o he an h opome ic ai s in each PC
be ween s udies. Visual inspec ion o PCA loadings showed high
conco dance ac oss s udies (Supplemen a y Fig. 1) and be ween
men and women. Be ween-s udy a ia ion in a iance explained
by he PCs was small (Supplemen a y Fig. 1, Supplemen a y
Table 2). On a e age, he fi s ou PCs explained mo e han 99%
o he a iance (Fig. 1, Supplemen a y Table 2), and we e
he e o e pu sued as body shape ou comes o ou gene-disco e y
e o . Gi en he ac oss-s udy s abili y o PCs, we de i ed a e age
loadings ha we e calcula ed as weigh ed means o loadings om
all 20 popula ion-based s udies ha we e analysed in his s ep.
We used hese a e age loadings o calcula e a e age p incipal
componen s (A PCs) as a ge s in each o he GWAS included in
he fi s and second s age. In o he wo ds, he pheno ypes used
o genome-wide associa ion we e cons uc ed in a consis en way
ac oss s udies, such ha he summa y s a is ics could be me a-
analysed.
Each A PC ep esen s a specific composi ion o he six
an h opome ic ai s and hus cap u es a specific aspec o body
shape (Fig. 1). The fi s A PC, which explains on a e age 64.4%
o he a ia ion in all ai s, shows high loadings o all ai s,
excep o heigh . The loadings a e in he same di ec ion; meaning
ha he A PC cap u es in e -indi idual a ia ion in ei he
inc eased o dec eased BMI, weigh , WHR, hip and wais
ci cum e ence. The e o e, a ia ion in his PC seems o
p edominan ly cap u e o e all adiposi y. The second A PC,
which explains 18.5% o he a ia ion, is cha ac e ized by
pa icula ly high bu opposi e loadings on heigh and WHR. In
o he wo ds, A PC2 cap u es a ia ion in a composi e pheno ype
ha ep esen s all indi iduals wi h a small WHR o , ice e sa,
sho indi iduals wi h a la ge WHR. The hi d A PC, explaining
13.8% o he a ia ion, also shows p edominan ly high loadings
on heigh and WHR bu in he same di ec ion, wi h an opposi e
loading o nea ly he same size on hip ci cum e ence. Gi en hese
loadings, A PC3 disc imina es mainly be ween all indi iduals
wi h a high WHR esul ing om a smalle hip ci cum e ence on
one ex eme and sho indi iduals wi h low WHR, and a la ge
Hip Hip
Wais Wais
Weigh WHR Weigh WHR
–1 –0.5 00.5 BMI BMI
1–1 –0.5 0 0.5 1
a PC3 a PC4
a PC1
Loadings o A PCs
Explained a iance
a PC2
Heigh Heigh
Hip Hip
wais Wais
Weigh
0
A e age explained a iance in %
20 40 60 80 100
PC1
PC2
PC3
PC4
PC5
PC6
WHR Weigh WHR
–1 –0.5 0 0.5 BMI BMI
1 –1 –0.5 0 0.5 1
Heigh Heigh
a
b
Figu e 1 | Loadings and explained a iance o A PCs o body shape.
(a) Loadings o A PCs, and (b) explained a iance o A PCs o body shape.
ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357
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hip ci cum e ence on he o he ex eme. The ou h A PC
explains on a e age 3% and is ha de o in e p e . I displays high
loadings on BMI and body weigh , and opposi e loadings o a
simila size on hip and wais ci cum e ence. These could be
in e p e ed as a pheno ype anging be ween high BMI and
weigh , wi h ela i ely small hip and wais ci cum e ence on he
one hand and low BMI and weigh bu la ge wais and hip
ci cum e ence on he o he hand.
Consis en wi h he indi idual an h opome ic ai s, he ou
A PCs ha desc ibe body shape a e also he i able. Using da a
om ou isola e popula ions (n¼4,000), we es ima ed ha
A PC2 has he highes he i abili y (75–80%), consis en wi h he
ac ha heigh is he main con ibu ing ai o his A PC wi h a
s ong gene ic componen 1. The he i abili y o A PC1 (35–50%),
A PC3 (50–75%) and A PC4 (25–50%) we e mode a ely high
and simila o he he i abili y o indi idual an h opome ic
ai s17 (Supplemen a y Fig. 2). F om a clinical pe spec i e, each
o he ou A PCs exhibi known co ela ions wi h ca dio-
me abolic ai s (Supplemen a y Fig. 3), including dias olic blood
p essu e, sys olic blood p essu e, o al choles e ol, low-densi y
lipop o ein choles e ol, high-densi y lipop o ein choles e ol and
o al iglyce ides le els.
Genomic disco e y o body shape composi e pheno ypes.We
pe o med a wo-s aged me a-analysis o iden i y gene ic loci ha
a e associa ed wi h he ou A PCs (Supplemen a y Table 3,
Supplemen a y Table 4). In he fi s s age, a me a-analysis o 43
s udies wi h impu ed genome-wide SNP da a including mo e
han 133,000 indi iduals iden ified SNPs in 385 loci ac oss he
ou A PCs (56 loci o A PC1, 205 o A PC2, 89 o A PC3
and 35 o A PC4) ha showed p omising associa ion
(P alueo5106) o a leas one o he ou A PCs (Fig. 2,
Supplemen a y Fig. 4). Lead SNPs (and p oxies; see ‘Me hods’
sec ion) o each locus we e aken o wa d o alida ion in a
second s age, including da a om mo e han 39,900 indi iduals
om 22 s udies o which 12 s udies had geno ypes om he
Illumina Ca dioMe abochip and 10 s udies had impu ed genome-
wide SNP da a. In he combined analyses, consis ing o he fi s
and second s age s udies, he associa ion o 207 o he 385 loci
eached genome-wide significance (P alue o5108) (31 o
A PC1, 124 o A PC2, 45 o A PC3 and 7 o A PC4; Fig. 2,
Fig. 3, Supplemen a y Fig. 4, Supplemen a y Table 6), o which 16
loci we e iden ified o wo A PCs and one showed significan
associa ion wi h h ee A PCs (Supplemen a y Fig. 7,
Supplemen a y Table 5) esul ing in a o al o 189 loci wi h
–log10 (P alue)–log10 (P alue)
–log10 (P alue)
CD47 LEMD2
GANAB
ARL15 ANP32B
RPS6KA5
a PC1
a PC2
a PC3
Ch omosome
60
50
30
20
10
0
Obse e d –log10
(P alue)
60
50
30
20
10
0
Obse e d –log10
(P alue)
50
40
30
20
10
0
Obse e d –log10
(P alue)
Obse e d –log10
(P alue)
30
20
10
10
0
0
024
Expec ed –log10
(P alue)
6
024
Expec ed –log10
(P alue)
6
024
Expec ed –log10
(P alue)
6
0246
50
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
a PC4
–log10 (P alue)
30
20
10
0
P e ious GIANT loci
No el loci
Addi ionally excluding
no el bod
y
shape loci
Excluding loci om
p e ious GIANT analyses
All SNPs
Expec ed –log10
(P alue)
Ch omosome
Ch omosome
Ch omosome
1
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Figu e 2 | Manha an and QQ-plo s o associa ion esul s on A PCs o body shape. P alues o he fi s s age me a-analysis a e gi en in he Manha an
and QQ-plo s. All genome-wide significan loci a e highligh ed.
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associa ion o a leas one A PC. To de e mine whe he he loci
we iden ified we e independen o he loci p e iously ound o
BMI, WHRadjBMI and heigh , we pe o med condi ional ana-
lyses on SNPs epo ed in p e ious GIANT-GWAS publica ions
on BMI, WHRadjBMI and heigh 1,2,4,5,18,19. A locus was
conside ed independen o epo ed findings i he P alue in
he analyses condi ioned on all p e iously iden ified loci
emained sugges i e (P alue o5106). In o al, 183 loci
had al eady been es ablished o BMI, WHRadjBMI o heigh
(Fig. 3, Supplemen a y Fig. 7), whe eas six loci had no p e iously
been iden ified o associa ion wi h con en ional an h opome ic
ai s; wo o A PC1, wo o A PC3 and wo o A PC4
(Table 1, local associa ion plo s gi en in Supplemen a y Fig. 5).
Fo hese six no el loci, he esul s o he lead SNPs we e checked
in p e iously pe o med GWAS me a-analyses on an h opo-
me ic and ca dio-me abolic ai s (Supplemen a y Table 7).
Resul s o A PC1. Fo A PC1, we iden ified 31 genome-wide
significan loci, o which wo we e no el (ups eam o LEMD2
and CD47). O he 29 p e iously es ablished loci, 24 ha e been
associa ed wi h BMI only18, 3 wi h heigh only1,3, while wo loci
ha e been epo ed o associa ions wi h bo h BMI and heigh 3,18
(Fig. 3a). While bo h no el loci showed some e idence o
associa ion wi h BMI in he la es GIANT–GWAS (n4339,000;
Po7.2 103; Table 1), hey did no each genome-wide
significance. The lead SNP ( s943466) 7 kb ups eam o LEMD2
has been epo ed o be associa ed wi h exp ession o LEMD2 in
li e (P¼1.66 109)20,21. Ano he a ian in LEMD2
( s2296743 a 8 kb om ou lead SNP s943466; 2¼0.2,
D0¼1.0) was p e iously epo ed o i s p omising associa ion
(P alue ¼8106) wi h ene gy in ake a dinne in a small
GWAS o 815 Hispanic child en22. The lead SNP ( s7640424) o
he second no el locus was loca ed in an enhance egion 10 kb
ups eam o CD47 ( e s 23,24), which encodes a memb ane
p o ein ha migh be in ol ed in signal ansduc ion and
memb ane anspo 25. No genome-wide significan associa ions
ha e been epo ed o he lead SNP o o he SNPs in he CD47
gene be o e23–25. Howe e , a ecen s udy e ealed a link o die -
induced obesi y in mice and sugges s CD47 as a po en ial d ug-
a ge o comba obesi y and me abolic complica ions26,27.
Resul s o A PC2. Fo A PC2, we iden ified no no el loci.
Almos all (n¼122) o he 124 loci associa ed wi h A PC2 had
p e iously been iden ified o heigh 1(Fig. 3b), which is
consis en wi h A PC2’s high loadings on heigh and opposi e
loadings on WHR. O hese 122 loci, 103 we e epo ed o
associa ion o heigh only, whe eas o he 19 emaining loci, 4
we e p e iously associa ed wi h heigh , BMI and WHRadjBMI, 2
loci we e epo ed o heigh and BMI and 13 loci o e lapped
wi h heigh and WHR. The wo A PC2 loci ha did no associa e
wi h heigh we e p e iously iden ified o WHRadjBMI19.
Resul s o A PC3. We iden ified 45 loci ha eached genome-
wide significance o A PC3, o which 2 we e no el. Consis en
wi h he loadings o A PC3, 43 o he associa ed loci had been
epo ed be o e o heigh 1o WHR4,19 (Fig. 3c). The lead SNP o
he fi s no el locus s7492628, ups eam o he genes RPS6KA5
(420 kb) and C14o 159 (430 kb), ailed o each genome-wide
significance in p e ious WHRadjBMI GWAS (P alue ¼9.3
108) and was nominally associa ed wi h ex eme obesi y isk
(P alue ¼7.26 105)28. The lead SNP o he o he no el
locus, GANAB, s7949030, showed some e idence o associa ion
wi h WHRadjBMI in he la es GIANT GWAS (P alue ¼3.3
106) and was epo ed o be an eQTL o se e al o he
genes21: In monocy es, egula ion o MIR3654,EEF1G,EML3,
BSCL2,HNRNPUL2-BSCL2,LRRN4CL was ound29–31.BSCL2 is
o in e es , as i is a known candida e gene o he mos se e e
lipodys ophy pheno ype32. In blood s7949030 was ound o be
an eQTL o HNRNPUL2-BSCL2,AHNAK,LRRN4CL and INTS5
( e s 33,34), while in skin and adipocy es i was ound as an eQTL
o EML3 ( e s 30,31,35).
Resul s o A PC4. Se en loci we e iden ified o A PC4, o
which fi e had been p e iously epo ed; one o BMI and heigh ,
one o WHR and heigh , one o heigh only and wo o
WHR only1,3,4,36 (Fig. 3). The lead SNPs o he wo no el loci
iden ified wi h A PC4 we e bo h in onic, in ARL15 and ANP32.
The allele associa ed wi h inc eased A PC4 o he lead SNP
( s4865796) in ARL15 was mode a ely associa ed wi h highe
BMI (P alue ¼1.6 104), inc eased adiponec in le els
(P alue ¼4.2 106ADIPOGEN37) and dec eased isk o
diabe es (P alue ¼1.8 105, DIAGRAM38). This SNP was
associa ed wi h as ing insulin ( s4865796, P¼2.1 10 8and
2.2 1012 a e adjus men o BMI39). O he nea by SNPs in
high linkage disequilb ium (LD), ha e p e iously been epo ed
o associa ions wi h BMI-adjus ed adiponec in le els ( s6450176/
s4311394, 2¼0.087, D0¼0.87 ( e s 37,40)), high densi y
lipop o ein C (HDL-C) le els ( s6450176 ( e s 41,42)) and isk
o ype 2 diabe es ( s702634, 2¼1.0, D0¼1.0 ( e . 38)). A
duplica ion in ARL15, agged by s16992296) was p e iously
ound o be associa ed wi h inc eased isk o childhood obesi y in
Eu opean and A ican Ame icans43. Howe e , his duplica ion is
independen o he associa ion we ound o s4865796-ARL15
and A PC4, which is in low LD ( 2EUR ¼0.065) wi h he
duplica ion ( ep esen ed by s16992296), loca ed 168 kb
ups eam. The lead SNP ( s7855432) o he second locus,
ANP32B, was mode a ely associa ed wi h heigh (P
alue ¼5.5 106)1. A SNP in high LD ( s4743150 2¼0.95,
D0¼1.0) was epo ed o be p omisingly associa ed wi h
co ona y hea disease isk (P alue ¼5106)44.
a PC1
ab
cd
Heigh WHR Heigh WHR
Heigh WHR
Heigh WHR
a PC2
a PC4a PC3
BMI BMI
BMI BMI
24
2
2
2
0
00
0
0
0
0
0
0
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2
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21
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103 13
4
4
8820
0
3
3
Figu e 3 | Numbe o loci associa ed wi h A PCs and known om
p e ious GIANT analyses on BMI, WHR o heigh . (a–d) co esponds o
each A gPC espec i ely. The Venn diag ams speci y o each A PC how
many significan ly associa ed loci (p omising P alue in he fi s s age me a
analysis (o5106) and genome wide significan in fi s and second
s age combined analysis (o5108)) a e known om p e ious GIANT
analysis on BMI, heigh o WHR. In he uppe igh co ne o each plo he
numbe o loci is gi en ha a e no known om p e ious GIANT analyses.
ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357
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Discussion
We de eloped a PCA-based app oach o cap u e a ia ion ac oss
mul iple ai s simul aneously in a uni o m way ac oss mul iple
s udies. Resul ing A PCs a e a obus c oss-pheno ype ep esen-
a ion allowing hei use in la ge-scale me a-analyses. We assessed
his app oach o cap u e body shape based on six indi idual
an h opome ic ai s and iden ified six no el loci ha we e no
iden ified be o e in much la ge GWAS-me a-analyses o BMI,
WHRadjBMI and heigh 1,2,4. Ou findings sugges ha he body
shape composi e pheno ype, assessed by A PCs, ep esen s
in o ma ion ha is no ully cap u ed by indi idual
(an h opome ic) ai s. Applica ion o his me hod o o he
ela ed ai s, o example, in immune disease, di e en ypes o
cance , ca diome abolic ai s, o o he co ela ed ai s migh
compa ably e eal new loci, and po en ially new pa hways, ha
ha e no been iden ified in single- ai GWAS.
The A PCs a e combina ions o di e en an h opome ic ai s
and he e o e cap u e mo e complex body shape pheno ypes han
he single ai s. A PC1, ep esen ing o e all adiposi y, and
A PC2, ep esen ing heigh wi h espec o WHR, a e he mos
impo an con ibu o s o body shape, explaining on a e age
mo e han 80% o he a ia ion. Mo e specific body shape ypes
we e cap u ed by A PC3 and A PC4 and we e defined by impac
o heigh and WHR (A PC3) o BMI, wais and hip (A PC4).
Ou ini ial analyses demons a ed ha he loadings a e s able
ac oss s udies, s udy designs and be ween men and women.
Mo eo e , we ha e shown ha he A PCs a e he i able ai s and
co ela ed wi h ca diome abolic ai s and isk ac o s.
To u he demons a e he s eng h o his app oach, we
compa ed o al a iance explained o single ai s and A PCs by
SNPs p e iously iden ified in single- ai GWAS ( o BMI,
WHRadjBMI, heigh 1,2,4). Fo example, he 97 loci ha ha e
been epo ed o associa ion in he la es BMI single- ai GWAS
(NB340,000) explain 8.7% o he a ia ion in A PC1, whe eas
hey explained only 2.68% o he a ia ion in BMI2. These da a
indica e ha ou PC-defined pheno ype o o e all body size
(A PC1) cap u es a mo e composi e pheno ype compa ed wi h
BMI as a single- ai . Explaining mo e o he a iance wi h he
same gene ic a ian s as p e ious single- ai s udies in ou
composi e pheno ype shows p omise o upda e and in o m
exis ing me hods.
So a , ypical GWAS ha e es ed o associa ion o gene ic
a ian s wi h an h opome ic ai s, one ai a a ime. We define
‘body shape’ as a composi e o mul iple ai s defined by PCs. We
fi s pe o med PC-analyses in ep esen a i e popula ion-based
s udies and a e aged PC loadings ac oss hese s udies (A PCs).
We subsequen ly use hese A PCs o calcula e PCs in all
pa icipa ing s udies. This app oach ensu es ha PCs a e
calcula ed in a uni o m manne ac oss all s udies, hus acili a ing
subsequen me a-analyses. This app oach could be applied o
cap u e gene ic a ia ion ac oss ela ed ai s ha is cu en ly no
cap u ed by single- ai s GWAS ( o example, in he con ex o
au oimmune disease, blood ai s, lipid le els, di e en cance s
and so on.).
Consis en wi h published an h opome ic ai s10,11,17, he
de i ed A PCs a e he i able and co ela ed wi h clinically
ele an ou comes. We iden ified addi ional loci, despi e a
much smalle sample size compa ed wi h he la es single- ai
GWAS analyses o BMI, heigh and WHRadjBMI1,2,4. This
sugges s ha he A PC me hod cap u es pheno ype in o ma ion
ha is no cap u ed by single- ai analyses and associa ed loci
may highligh biological pa hways ha a e no e ealed wi h
single- ai associa ed loci only.
E en hough ou app oach has se e al ad an ages, i is no
mean o eplace single ai GWAS analyses. A numbe o loci
ha we e iden ified in he la es single- ai GWAS we e no
iden ified in ou body shape GWAS; ha is, we iden ified 124 loci
(o 14.2%) o he 837 loci ecen ly epo ed in he GIANT single-
ai me a-analyses (Supplemen a y Fig. 6). This may be due o
he ac ha hese ecen single- ai GWAS me a-analyses we e a
leas wice as la ge as he cu en body shape GWAS. Howe e ,
e en when we compa e he numbe o iden ified loci in ea lie
GWAS me a-analyses, which a e o simila size as he cu en
body shape GWAS, we do no iden i y all p e iously epo ed loci
o single ai s. Pe haps his is mos ob ious wi h heigh (la gely
ep esen a i e o A PC2), whe e we only iden ified 91 (13.1%) o
697 loci iden ified o heigh . This is in pa due o he ac ha a
conse a i e defini ion o linkage disequilib ium was applied
( 240.8), lack o powe due o sample size o SNPs o modes
e ec s, o pe haps he A PCs in oduces noise o pu ely single
ai s such as heigh . Consis en wi h his finding, we also obse e
ha some single ai s also explain mo e o he a iance o body
shape compa ed wi h A PCs. Ou compa ison o he a iance
explained be ween p e ious single- ai s me a-GWAS and ou
A PCs suppo his e idence o o e lapping associa ed a ian s.
Since A PC2 ep esen s la gely a single ai , heigh , wi h la ge
heigh loadings we we e unable o explain mo e o he a iance.
In ac we explained less o he a iance, which is likely due o
noise in oduced using his composi e A PCs pheno ype. This
obse a ion is also e iden o a iance in body shape explained
Table 1 | Associa ion esul s o no el loci wi h a PC o body shape.
1s s age up
o 133,376
samples
2nd s age
up o
39,904
samples
1s þ2nd s age combined
up o 173,278 samples
Condi ioned
analysis on all
GIANT ophi s
P alue o SNPs in
GIANT analysisw
P alue o SNPs in
GIANT analysisz
ai SNP (lead
SNP)
Nex
gene
E ec /
o he
allele
EAF*P alue P alue be a
(sebe a)
P alue Nbe a
(sebe a)
P alue BMI Heigh WHR BMI Heigh WHR
a PC1 s7640424 CD47 C/T 69% 5.40E-07 0.0015 0.05
(0.008)
3.18E-09 171,544 0.05
(0.01)
5.80E-07 0.0072 0.74 0.25 2.28E-06 0.28 0.85
a PC1 s943466
( s2281819)
LEMD2 G/A 76% 6.39E-07 0.016 0.049
(0.009)
3.47E-08 172,174 0.049
(0.01)
7.28E-07 2.7E-04 0.045 0.54 9.34E-06 0.75 0.25
a PC3 s7949030 GANAB G/A 38% 2.74E-08 0.11 0.024
(0.004)
5.58E-09 139,195 0.025
(0.004)
6.36E-09 0.082 0.80 1.4E-04 0.54 0.041 3.3E-06
a PC3 s7492628 RPS6KA5 G/C 30% 8.75E-08 0.13 0.024
(0.004)
1.90E-08 139,874 0.024
(0.004)
7.93E-08 0.064 0.62 4.9E-05 0.0050 0.58 9.3E-08
a PC4 s4865796
( s1664781)
ARL15 G/A 32% 5.59E-07 0.011 0.008
(0.001)
2.25E-08 172,517 0.008
(0.002)
7.25E-07 5.1E-05 0.034 0.40 1.6E-04 0.020 0.84
a PC4 s7855432 ANP32B G/T 80% 1.40E-07 0.17 0.01
(0.002)
4.06E-08 140,805 0.01
(0.002)
1.78E-07 0.33 0.046 0.49 0.32 5.5E-06 0.91
The associa ion esul s o he fi s s age, second s age and fi s and second s age combined analysis is gi en o all six loci ha we e genome wide significan ly associa ed (p omising P alue in he fi s
s age me a analysis (o510 6) and genome wide significan in fi s and second s age combined analysis e (o510 8)) wi h one o he a PCs and no el. Mo eo e , he P alues o he analysis
condi ioned on all ophi s om he ecen GIANT publica ions on BMI, heigh and WHR.
*EAF is mean o EAF o all s udies in he fi s s age me a analysis.
wAll ophi s o he GIANT analysis published be o e 2014 ( e s 3,6).
zAll ophi s o he GIANT analysis unpublished and/o published a e 2014 ( e s 1,2,4).
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 ARTICLE
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 7:13357 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 | www.na u e.com/na u ecommunica ions 5
by heigh compa ed wi h A PC3 and A PC4, bu is in con as o
BMI, a complex ai comp ised o mul iple an h opome ic
measu emen s, which explains less a iance in body shape
compa ed wi h A PC3 and A PC4. I is impo an o emphasize
ou app oach is mos in o ma i e o complex ai s such as BMI
ha a e de i ed om a se ies o o he ai s. We belie e ha using
PC space o define complex ai s is use ul o he de ec ion o loci
in ol ed in mul iple pa hways ha migh go unde ec ed in a
single ai se ing.
We ha e de eloped a new s a egy ha applies a PCA app oach
in a me a-analysis se ing o combine composi e pheno ypes in a
ha monized way ac oss mul iple s udies. We success ully applied
his app oach o an h opome ic ai s o cap u e body shape. The
de i ed combined an h opome ic ai s (A PCs) we e shown o
be he i able and co ela ed o ca dio-me abolic ai s. La ge-scale
GWAS me a-analyses o he A PCs iden ified six new loci ha
we e no iden ified by p e ious single- ai GWAS ha we e wice
as la ge in samples size. This PCA app oach could maximize gene
disco e y o o he co ela ed ai s, such as cance s, immune
disease, hema ologic ai s and so on. and may iden i y genes ha
poin owa ds sha ed physiological pa hways.
Me hods
S udy desc ip ion.In he fi s s age analyses, 43 s udies pa icipa ed (133,376
indi iduals) ha had HapMap 2 impu ed genome-wide da a a ailable. A subse o
20 s udies wi h un ela ed indi iduals was used o calcula ion o a e age loadings.
Second s age analyses we e pe o med in 10 s udies (7,734 indi iduals) wi h
genome-wide da a ha became a ailable a e he fi s s age and 12 s udies (32,170
indi iduals) wi h Ca dio-Me aboChip (by Illumina) da a (numbe o included
s udies and indi iduals gi en in Supplemen a y Table 3). De ails on s udy
pheno ypes, geno yping and impu a ion o each s udy a e gi en in he
Supplemen a y Tables 8 and 9, espec i ely.
E hics s a emen .All s udy pa icipan s ga e w i en in o med consen and e hic
commi ees app o ed all s udies. The e hic s a emen o each s udy is gi en in he
s udy specific acknowledgemen s.
Calcula ion o a e age loadings.In 20 independen s udies (Supplemen a y
Table 1) wi h un ela ed pa icipan s PCAs we e pe o med on six an h opome ic
ai s (BMI, heigh , hip, wais , weigh and WHR). Each s udy pe o med a PCA on
he s anda dized esiduals o he an h opome ic ai s adjus ed o age and gende .
The same analyses we e done o men and women sepa a ely wi h esiduals
adjus ed o age only. The esul o he PCA in each s udy is a se o six PCs ha a e
o hogonal linea combina ions o he six an h opome ic ai s. In o he wo ds
each PC is a weigh ed sum o he six ans o med an h opome ic ai s and
independen o he o he PCs. The weigh s o each ai pe PC a e called loadings.
Each s udy also calcula ed he explained a iance pe PC. The loadings and
explained a iances we e compa able o all s udies (Supplemen a y Fig. 1 (1)).
Wi h he in en ion o c ea e pheno ypes ha a e iden ically cons uc ed in all
s udies, he esul s o single s udy PCAs we e used o deduce he a e age loadings.
This app oach is easonable as he loadings o he s udy specific PCAs we e
compa able. Wi h he use o he single s udy co ela ion ma ices a combined
a e age co ela ion ma ix was de i ed (weigh ed sum di ided by numbe o
indi iduals). This a e age co ela ion ma ix is hen used as basis o a PCA. The
loadings ha esul om his PCA a e called a e age loadings (Fig. 1a) and
Supplemen a y Table 2). This was pe o med o men, women and all indi iduals
combined, howe e ul ima ely we used combined loadings o p ima y esul s
epo ed in he manusc ip . Sex specific esul s a e epo ed in he Supplemen a y
Ma e ial. The a e age loadings and explained a iance we e compa able o he
s udy specific loadings and explained a iances (Supplemen a y Fig. 1).
He i abili y analyses.He i abili y o he a PCs was calcula ed wi hin ou
popula ion isola es, CROATIA-Vis (n¼909), CROATIA-Ko cula (n¼842),
CROATIA-Spli (n¼499) and ORCADES (n¼866) using he ‘polygenic’ unc ion
o he GenABEL package o R 45.
A e age p incipal componen s as body shape pheno ype.The a e age loadings
we e used in each s udy o calcula e he A PCs in a s anda dized way. The e o e,
he a e age loadings we e dis ibu ed oge he wi h an R-sc ip (h p://www. -
p ojec .o g/) ha calcula ed he A PCs as linea combina ion o esiduals o he
s udy pheno ypes wi h he use o he a e age loadings. This was done o men and
women sepa a ely and addi ionally o combined in s udies wi h ela edness
s uc u e. As he fi s ou PCs explain on a e age mo e han 99% o he a iance
(Fig. 1b) we decided o limi all analyses o hese ou PCs.
S age 1 analyses.GWAS on he fi s ou A PCs we e calcula ed o men and
women sepa a ely in s udies o un ela ed samples and combined o s udies wi h
ela ed samples wi h an adjus men o s udy si e when necessa y. All s udies o he
fi s s age analyses used HapMap 2 impu ed genome-wide da a. GWAS esul s
unde wen ex ensi e quali y con ol and s udy-wise fil e ing (call a e 495%,
P alue (HWE)4106, impu a ion quali y, mino allele coun (MAC) 43).
The me a analyses o GWAS esul s o he fi s ou A PCs we combined
sex-s a ified esul s o s udies wi h un ela ed indi iduals and uns a ified
GWAS esul s o s udies wi h ela edness indi iduals. Me a analyses we e
pe o med wi h METAL 46 using fixed e ec s in e se a iance-weigh ed me hod.
Single s udy and he me a analysis P alues we e co ec ed by he genomic
con ol infla ion ac o l(me a analysis lbe o e co ec ion: l(PC1) ¼1.29,
l(PC2) ¼1.407, l(PC3) ¼1.236, l(PC4) ¼1.136). Resul s we e limi ed o SNPs
ha a e in HapMap 2 and had esul s o mo e han 30,000 indi iduals.
He e ogenei y analysis was pe o med wi h METAL. Each A PC all SNPs wi h a
p omising P alue (P alueo510 6) we e iden ified in combined analyses. To
iden i y p omising loci clus e ing (LD40.01, dis ance o1,000 kb) wi h PLINK47
based on HapMap 2 geno ypes was pe o med. All leading SNPs pe clump o
A PCs we e aken o wa d o second s age analyses and named p omising SNPs in
his manusc ip .
Two SNPs ha we e p omising o he fi s p incipal componen had e y low
he e ogenei y P alues ( s10847678 (P alue(he ) ¼8.8 10152), s13296358
(P alue(he ) ¼5.4 1067)). Fo bo h SNPs he e ec was d i en only by a single
s udy and no o he SNP in high LD had a p omising P alue. The e o e, hese wo
SNPs we e emo ed om u he analyses.
S age 2 Analyses.As men ioned abo e o second s age analyses a mix u e o
s udies wi h genome-wide SNP da a and Me aboChip geno ypes was a ailable.
Some o he leading SNPs o he fi s s age analyses we e no geno yped on he
Me aboChip. To inc ease he powe o all p omising SNPs o each A PC p oxies
we e defined ha we e all SNPs close o p omising SNPs (dis ance o500 kb), in
high LD (LD40.9) and a ailable in mo e han 70% o he indi iduals o he second
s age. Resul s o he second s age analyses unde wen he same quali y con ol as
fi s s age esul s.
Combined analyses.The combined analyses o all fi s and second s age GWAS
was pe o med wi h METAL35 wi h in e se a iance based me hod. Resul s o
men and women we e combined as desc ibed o he fi s s age me a-analyses. All
p omising loci o which a leas one p oxy had a genome-wide significan P alue
in he combined analysis we e named genome-wide significan loci and he bes
SNP o he combined analyses (la ges absolu e be a) was epo ed as opSNP o
his locus.
No el loci - condi ional analyses and look-ups in p e ious GIANT analyses.
Two analyses we e pe o med o dis inguish be ween genome-wide significan
body shape loci ha a e known om p e ious GWAS on BMI, heigh and WHR
and no el body shape loci. Fi s , condi ional analyses we e pe o med. We used he
226 epo ed opSNPs (32 BMI, 180 heigh , 14 WHR) o published GIANT
analyses on BMI, heigh and WHR1,2,4 o pe o m condi ional analyses o he fi s
s age me a-analyses using GCTA15,48. The esul s o his analysis we e hen
analysed condi ioned on 843 opSNPs (97 BMI, 697 heigh , 49 WHR) o he
published GIANT analyses1,2,4. To iden i y he o e lap o he esul s o A PCs
wi h he single an h opome ic ai s, he same condi ional analyses we e
pe o med o BMI, heigh and WHR sepa a ely. Fo calcula ion o he
LD-s uc u e geno ype da a om KORA F4 was used. Two opSNPs o he
unpublished GIANT esul s had o be emo ed be o e analyses as hey we e in high
co ela ion wi h wo o he opSNPs. I he body shape opSNPs we e independen
loci iden ified by p e ious GIANT analyses, he P alue should s ay p omising
(P alueo5106) in bo h condi ional analyses. Second, we checked by look-ups
i hose genome-wide significan SNPs ha a e independen om he p e iously
epo ed opSNPs we e no genome-wide significan (P alue4510 8)in
GIANT analyses1,2,4.
Genome-wide significan SNPs a e named no el SNPs i hey ulfil he ollowing
condi ions:
P alue o condi ioned analyses on opSNPs epo ed by p e ious
GIANT analyses (on BMI, heigh , WHR) emained p omising
(P alueo5106).
P alue in p e ious GIANT analyses (on BMI, heigh , WHR) was no
genome-wide significan (P alue45108).
Pleio opic e ec s.Fo iden ifica ion o po en ial pleio opic e ec s se e al
look-ups in a ious la ge-scale conso ia on di e en pheno ypes we e pe o med,
including GIANT, DIAGRAM and MAGIC, all e e ences a e gi en in he esul s
able o he look-ups (Supplemen a y Table 7). Fo compa ison o e ec di ec ions
ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357
6NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 7:13357 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 | www.na u e.com/na u ecommunica ions
he loadings o each A PC ha e o be conside ed. Fo example A PC2 includes
heigh wi h a posi i e loading and BMI wi h a nega i e loading. Tha means an
inc easing e ec on A PC2 means an inc easing e ec on heigh bu a dec easing
e ec on BMI.
Fu he Analyses.PCA, u he analyses and plo s we e gene a ed wi h R
(h p://www. -p ojec .o g/) i no s a ed o he wise. Apa om he GCTA analyses,
which uses LD s uc u e o KORA F4, all LD analyses we e pe o med in PLINK
based on HapMap 2 (CEU) geno ypes. Fo compa ison o findings be ween loci
om di e en A PCs wo loci a e assumed o be iden ical i he opSNPs a e in
high LD (LD40.8).
Da a a ailabili y.Summa y s a is ics o all analyses can be downloaded
om:h ps://www.b oadins i u e.o g/collabo a ion/gian /
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Acknowledgemen s
A comple e lis o acknowledgemen s is desc ibed in Supplemen a y No es.
Au ho con ibu ions
A de ailed lis o au ho con ibu ions is desc ibed in Supplemen a y No es.
Addi ional in o ma ion
Supplemen a y In o ma ion accompanies his pape a h p://www.na u e.com/
na u ecommunica ions
Compe ing financial in e es s: Ka i S e ansson, Valge du S ein ho sdo i , Gudma
Tho lei sson and Unnu Tho s einsdo i a e used by deCODE Gene ics/Amgen inc.
Ge
´ a d Waebe and Pe e Vollenweide ecei ed an un es ic ed g an om GSK o build
he CoLaus s udy. B uce M. Psa y se es on a DSMB o a clinical ial o a de ice unded
by he manu ac u e (Zoll Li eCo ).
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NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 7:13357 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 | www.na u e.com/na u ecommunica ions 7
Rep in s and pe mission in o ma ion is a ailable online a h p://npg.na u e.com/
ep in sandpe missions/
How o ci e his a icle: Ried, J. S. e al. A p incipal componen me a-analysis on
mul iple an h opome ic ai s iden ifies no el loci o body shape. Na . Commun. 7,
13357 doi: 10.1038/ncomms13357 (2016).
Publishe ’s no e: Sp inge Na u e emains neu al wi h ega d o ju isdic ional claims in
published maps and ins i u ional a filia ions.
This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0
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The Au ho (s) 2016
Janina S. Ried1,*, Janina M. Je 2,*, Aud ey Y. Chu3, Jenni e L. B agg-G esham4, Jenny an Dongen5,
Jenni e E. Hu man6, Ta un ee S. Ahluwalia7,8,9, Gemma Cadby10, Niina Eklund11, Joel E iksson12,
To
˜nu Esko13,14,15,16, Ma y F. Fei osa17, Anuj Goel18,19, Ma hias Go ski20,21, Ca oline Haywa d6,
Nancy L. Hea d-Cos a22,23, Anne U. Jackson24, Ee o Jokinen25, S a oula Kanoni26,27, Ka i K is iansson11,28,
Zol a
´n Ku alik29,30,31, Ja i Lah i32,33, Jian’an Luan34, Reedik Ma
¨gi15,19, Anubha Mahajan19, Massimo Mangino35,
Ca olina Medina-Gomez36,37, Ke i L. Monda38,39, Ilja M. Nol e40, Louis Pe
´ usse41,42, Inga P okopenko19,43,44,
Lu Qi45,46, Lynda M. Rose3, E ika Sal i47,48, Megan T. Smi h49, Ha old Sniede 40, Alena S anc
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´ko a
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Yun Ju Sung51, Ioanna Tachmazidou26, Alexande Teume 52,53, Gudma Tho lei sson54, Pim an de Ha s 55,56,57,
Ryan W. Walke 2,58, Sophie R. Wang16,59,60,61, Sa ah H. Wild62, Sa a M. Willems63, And ew Wong64,
Weihua Zhang65,66, E a Alb ech 1, Alexessande Cou o Al es67, S ephan J.L. Bakke 68, C is ina Ba lassina47,48,
T aci M. Ba z49,69,70, John Beilby71,72, Clai e Bellis73,74, Richa d N. Be gman75, S en Be gmann29,30,
John Blange o76, Ma hias Blu¨he 77,78, E ic Boe winkle79, Lo i L. Bonnycas le80, S e an R. Bo ns ein81,
Ma cel B uinenbe g82, Ha y Campbell62, Yii-De Ida Chen83, Cha les on W.K. Chiang84, Pe e S. Chines80,
F ancis S. Collins80, F acensco Cucca85, L. Ad ienne Cupples22, F ancesca D’A ila47,48, Eco J.C. de Geus5,86,
Geo ge Dedoussis87, Ma ia Dimi iou26,87, Angela Do
¨ ing88,89, Johan G. E iksson32,90,91, Aliki-Eleni Fa maki87,
Ma in Fa all18,19, Te esa Fe ei a19, K is a Fische 15, Ni a G. Fo ouhi34, Nele F ied ich92, Ane e P io Gjesing7,
Nicola Glo ioso93, Ma iaelisa G a 38, Ha ald G alle 89,94,95, Niels G a up7,Ju¨ gen G a
¨le 96, Jag i G ewal65,66,
Ande s Hams en97,98,99, Ma ie Nee gaa d Ha de 7, Ca ha ina A. Ha man100, Maija Hassinen101,
Nicholas Has ie6, And ew Tym Ha e sley102, Aki S. Ha ulinna11, Ma kku Helio
¨ aa a11, Hans Hillege57,
Albe Ho man36, Oddgei Holmen103, Geo g Homu h53, Jouke-Jan Ho enga5, Jennie Hui71,72,104,
Lise Lo e Husemoen105, Pi o G. Hysi35, Aa on Isaacs63, Till I e mann52, Shapou Jalilzadeh18,19,
Alan L. James106, To ben Jø gensen107,108,109, Pekka Jousilah i11, An i Jula11, Johanne Ma ie Jus esen7,
Anne E. Jus ice38, Mika Ka
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¨nen110,111, Ma ia Ka ale he i112, Kay Tee Khaw113,
Si kka M. Keinanen-Kiukaanniemi114,115, Leena Kinnunen116, Paul B. Knek 11, Heikki A. Kois inen116,117,118,
I ana Kolcic119, Ishminde K. Koone 66, Seppo Koskinen11, Pe e Ko acs77, Theodosios Ky iakou18,19,
Tomi Lai inen120,121, Claudia Langenbe g34,122, Alexand a M. Lewin67, Pe e Lich ne 123,
Cecilia M. Lindg en13,19,124, Jaana Linds o
¨m11, Allan Linnebe g105,107,125, Robe o Lo bee 52, Ma ias Lo en zon12,
Robe Luben126, Vale iya Lyssenko8,127, Sa u Ma
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¨11, Paolo Manun a128, I ene Ma eo Leach57,
Wendy L. McA dle129, Ba ba a Mcknigh 49,70,130, Ka en L. Mohlke131, E elin Mihailo 15, Lili Milani15,
Rebecca Mills66, May E. Mon asse 132, And ew P. Mo is19,133, Gab iele Mu¨lle 134, A hu W. Musk135,
Na isu Na isu80, Ken K. Ong34,64,136, Ben A. Oos a63, Cli e Osmond137, Aa no Palo ie28,138,
James S. Pankow139, La inia Pa e nos e 140, B enda W. Penninx141, I ene Pichle 142,143, Ma ia G. Pilia144,
Oz en Polas
ˇek62,119, Pe e P. P ams alle 142,143,145,146, Olli T. Rai aka i147,148, Tuomo Rankinen149, D.C. Rao51,150,
Nigel W. Rayne 19,44,151, Rasmus Ribel-Madsen7, T e a K. Rice51,150, Ma cus Richa ds44,64, Paul M. Ridke 3,152,
Fe nando Ri adenei a36,37, Ka hy A. Ryan132, Se ena Sanna144, Ma k A. Sa zynski149, Salome Schol ens40,
Robe A. Sco 34, Syl ain Sebe 43,153,154, Lo aine Sou ham19,26, Thomas Hempel Spa sø7,
Valge du S ein ho sdo i 54, Ka hleen S i ups26,27, Ronald P. S olk40, Kons an in S auch1,155, Hea he M.
ARTICLE NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357
8NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 7:13357 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 | www.na u e.com/na u ecommunica ions
S ingham24, Mo is A. Swe z56, Amy J. Swi 80, Anke To
¨njes78, Emmanouil Tsa an akis156,
Pe e J. an de Mos 40, Jana V. Van Vlie -Os ap chouk157, Liesbe h Vandenpu 12, E kki Va iainen11,
C is ina Ven u ini35,158, Niek Ve weij57, Jo ma S. Viika i159,160, Ve onique Vi a 6, Ma ie-Claude Vohl42,161,
Judi h M. Vonk40,Ge
´ a d Waebe 162, Elisabe h Wide
´n28, Gonneke Willemsen5, Tom Wilsgaa d163,
Thomas W. Winkle 21, Alan F. W igh 6, Lau a M. Ye ges-A ms ong132, Jing Hua Zhao34, M. Ca ola Zillikens37,
Do e I. Boomsma5, Claude Boucha d149, John C. Chambe s65,66,164, Daniel I. Chasman3,152, Daniele Cusi47,48,
Ron T. Ganse oo 68, Ch is ian Giege 1,89,95, To ben Hansen7,165, And ew A. Hicks142,143, F ank Hu45,46,
K is ian H eem103, Ma jo-Rii a Ja elin153,166,167,168, Ee o Kajan ie11,90,169,170, Jaspal S. Koone 66,164,171,
Diana Kuh64, Johanna Kuusis o50, Ma kku Laakso50, Timo A. Lakka101,172, Te ho Leh ima
¨ki173,174,
And es Me spalu15, Inge Njøls ad163,175, Claes Ohlsson12, Albe ine J. Oldehinkel100, Lyle J. Palme 176,177,
Olu Pede sen7, Ma kus Pe ola11,15,28, Anne e Pe e s89,95,178, B uce M. Psa y70,179,180,181, Hannu Puolijoki182,
Raine Rau amaa101,183, Igo Rudan62, Veikko Salomaa11, Pe e E.H. Schwa z81,184, Alan R. Shudine 132,185,
Jan H. Smi 141, Tho kild I.A. Sø ensen7,186,187, Timo hy D. Spec o 35, Ka i S e ansson54,188, Michael S um oll77,78,
Angelo T emblay41, Jaakko Tuomileh o189,190,191, And e
´G. Ui e linden36,37, Ma i Uusi upa192,193,
Uwe Vo
¨lke 53,194, Pe e Vollenweide 162, Nicholas J. Wa eham34, Hugh Wa kins18,19, James F. Wilson6,62,
Ele he ia Zeggini26, Goncalo R. Abecasis24, Michael Boehnke24, Ing id B. Bo ecki17, Panos Deloukas27,151,195,
Co nelia M. an Duijn63,196, Ca oline Fox22,152, Lei C. G oop127,197, I is M. Heid21,198, Da id J. Hun e 13,45,46,199,
Robe C. Kaplan200, Ma k I. McCa hy19,44,201, Ka i E. No h202, Je ey R. O’Connell132, Da id Schlessinge 203,
Unnu Tho s einsdo i 54,188, Da id P. S achan204, Timo hy F ayling205, Joel N. Hi schho n13,14,16,59,60,61,206,
Ma ina Mu¨lle -Nu asyid1,155,178,207,** & Ru h J.F. Loos2,34,58,208,209,**
1Ins i u e o Gene ic Epidemiology, Helmhol z Zen um Mu
¨nchen-Ge man Resea ch Cen e o En i onmen al Heal h, 85764 Neuhe be g, Ge many.
2The Cha les B on man Ins i u e o Pe sonalized Medicine, The Icahn School o Medicine a Moun Sinai, New Yo k, New Yo k 10029, USA. 3Di ision
o P e en i e Medicine, B igham and Women’s Hospi al, Bos on, Massachuse s 02215, USA. 4Kidney Epidemiology and Cos Cen e , In e nal
Medicine-Neph ology, Uni e si y o Michigan, Ann A bo , Michigan 48109, USA. 5Depa men o Biological Psychology, VU Uni e si y, 1081BT Ams e dam,
The Ne he lands. 6MRC Human Gene ics Uni , Ins i u e o Gene ics and Molecula Medicine, Uni e si y o Edinbu gh, EH4 2XU Edinbu gh, Sco land.
7Facul y o Heal h and Medical Sciences, No o No disk Founda ion Cen e o Basic Me abolic Resea ch, Sec ion o Me abolic Gene ics, Uni e si y o
Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denma k. 8S eno Diabe es Cen e A/S, DK-2820 Gen o e, Denma k. 9COPSAC, Copenhagen P ospec i e S udies on
As hma in Childhood, He le and Gen o e Hospi al, Uni e si y o Copenhagen, Led ebo g Alle
´34, DK-2820 Copenhagen, Denma k. 10 Cen e o Gene ic
O igins o Heal h and Disease, Uni e si y o Wes e n Aus alia, C awley, Wes e n Aus alia 6009, Aus alia. 11 Depa men o Heal h, Na ional Ins i u e o
Heal h and Wel a e (THL), FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland. 12 Depa men o In e nal Medicine and Clinical Nu i ion, Cen e o Bone and A h i is Resea ch,
Ins i u e o Medicine, Sahlg enska Academy, Uni e si y o Go henbu g, 413 45 Go henbu g, Sweden. 13 B oad Ins i u e o he Massachuse s Ins i u e o
Technology and Ha a d Uni e si y, Camb idge, Massachuse s 2142, USA. 14 Di isions o Endoc inology and Gene ics and Cen e o Basic and T ansla ional
Obesi y Resea ch, Bos on Child en’s Hospi al, Bos on, Massachuse s 02115, USA. 15 Es onian Genome Cen e , Uni e si y o Ta u, Ta u 51010, Es onia.
16 Depa men o Gene ics, Ha a d Medical School, Bos on, Massachuse s 02115, USA. 17 Di ision o S a is ical Genomics, Depa men o Gene ics,
Washing on Uni e si y School o Medicine, S . Louis, Missou i 63108, USA. 18 Di ision o Ca dio ascula Medicine, Radcli e Depa men o Medicine,
Uni e si y o Ox o d, Ox o d OX3 9DU, UK. 19 Wellcome T us Cen e o Human Gene ics, Uni e si y o Ox o d, Ox o d OX3 7BN, UK. 20 Depa men o
Neph ology, Uni e si y Hospi al Regensbu g, 93042 Regensbu g, Ge many. 21 Depa men o Gene ic Epidemiology, Ins i u e o Epidemiology and P e en i e
Medicine, Uni e si y o Regensbu g, 93053 Regensbu g, Ge many. 22 Na ional Hea , Lung, and Blood Ins i u e, he F amingham Hea S udy, F amingham,
Massachuse s 01702, USA. 23 Depa men o Neu ology, Bos on Uni e si y School o Medicine, Bos on, Massachuse s 02118, USA. 24 Depa men o
Bios a is ics, Cen e o S a is ical Gene ics, Uni e si y o Michigan, Ann A bo , Michigan 48109, USA. 25 Hospi al o Child en and Adolescen s, Uni e si y o
Helsinki, FI-00290 Helsinki, Finland. 26 Wellcome T us Sange Ins i u e, Human Gene ics, Hinx on, Camb idge CB10 1SA, UK. 27 William Ha ey Resea ch
Ins i u e, Ba s and The London School o Medicine and Den is y, Queen Ma y Uni e si y o London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK. 28 Ins i u e o Molecula
Medicine Finland, Uni e si y o Helsinki, FI-00290 Helsinki, Finland. 29 Swiss Ins i u e o Bioin o ma ics, 1015 Lausanne, Swi ze land. 30 Depa men o
Medical Gene ics, Uni e si y o Lausanne, Lausanne, 1005, Swi ze land. 31 Ins i u e o Social and P e en i e Medicine, Uni e si y Hospi al Lausanne (CHUV),
1010 Lausanne, Swi ze land. 32 Folkha
¨lsan Resea ch Cen e, FI-00290 Helsinki, Finland. 33 Ins i u e o Beha iou al Sciences, Uni e si y o Helsinki, FI-00014
Helsinki, Finland. 34 MRC Epidemiology Uni , Uni e si y o Camb idge School o Clinical Medicine, Ins i u e o Me abolic Science, Uni e si y o Camb idge,
Camb idge Biomedical Campus, Camb idge CB2 0QQ, UK. 35 Depa men o Twin Resea ch and Gene ic Epidemiology, King’s College London,
London SE1 7EH, UK. 36 Depa men o Epidemiology, E asmus Medical Cen e , 3015GE Ro e dam, The Ne he lands. 37 Depa men o In e nal Medicine,
E asmus Medical Cen e , 3015GE Ro e dam, The Ne he lands. 38 Depa men o Epidemiology, Uni e si y o No h Ca olina a Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, No h
Ca olina 27599, USA. 39 The Cen e o Obse a ional Resea ch, Amgen Inc., Thousand Oaks, Cali o nia 91320-1799, USA. 40 Depa men o Epidemiology,
Uni e si y o G oningen, Uni e si y Medical Cen e G oningen, 9700 RB G oningen, The Ne he lands. 41 Depa men o Kinesiology, La al Uni e si y, Que
´bec,
Que
´bec, Canada G1V 0A6. 42 Ins i u e o Nu i ion and Func ional Foods, La al Uni e si y, Que
´bec, Que
´bec, Canada G1V 0A6. 43 Depa men o Genomics o
Common Disease, School o Public Heal h, Impe ial College London, London W12 0NN, UK. 44 Ox o d Cen e o Diabe es, Endoc inology and Me abolism,
Uni e si y o Ox o d, Chu chill Hospi al, Ox o d OX3 7LJ, UK. 45 Depa men o Medicine, Channing Di ision o Ne wo k Medicine, B igham and Women’s
Hospi al and Ha a d Medical School, Bos on, Massachuse s 02115, USA. 46 Depa men o Nu i ion, Ha a d School o Public Heal h, Bos on,
Massachuse s 02115, USA. 47 Depa men o Heal h Sciences, Uni e si y o Milano a San Paolo Hospi al, 20139 Milano, I aly. 48 Fila e e Founda ion,
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 ARTICLE
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 7:13357 | DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13357 | www.na u e.com/na u ecommunica ions 9