Analysis of admixed Greenlandic siblings shows that the mean genotypic values for metabolic phenotypes differ between Inuit and Europeans

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Background: Disease prevalence and mean phenotype values differ between many populations, including Inuit and Europeans. Whether these differences are partly explained by genetic differences or solely due to differences in environmental exposures is still unknown, because estimates of the genetic contribution to these means, which we will here refer to as mean genotypic values, are easily confounded, and because studies across genetically diverse populations are lacking. Methods: Leveraging the unique genetic properties of the small, admixed and historically isolated Greenlandic population, we estimated the differences in mean genotypic value between Inuit and European genetic ancestry using an admixed sibling design. Analyses were performed across 26 metabolic phenotypes, in 1474 admixed sibling pairs present in a cohort of 5996 Greenlanders. Results: After FDR correction for multiple testing, we found significantly lower mean genotypic values in Inuit genetic ancestry compared to European genetic ancestry for body weight (effect size per percentage of Inuit genetic ancestry (se), −0.51 (0.16) kg/%), body mass index (−0.20 (0.06) kg/m2/%), fat percentage (−0.38 (0.13) %/%), waist circumference (−0.42 (0.16) cm/%), hip circumference (−0.38 (0.11) cm/%) and fasting serum insulin levels (−1.07 (0.51) pmol/l/%). The direction of the effects was consistent with the observed mean phenotype differences between Inuit and European genetic ancestry. No difference in mean genotypic value was observed for height, markers of glucose homeostasis, or circulating lipid levels. Conclusions: We show that mean genotypic values for some metabolic phenotypes differ between two human populations using a method not easily confounded by possible differences in environmental exposures. Our study illustrates the importance of performing genetic studies in diverse populations.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer71
TidsskriftGenome Medicine
Vol/bind16
Antal sider14
ISSN1756-994X
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2024

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
Open access funding provided by Copenhagen University AA has received funding from the Novo Nordisk foundation (NNF20OC0061343) and the Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond (DFF-0135-00211B). IM has received funding from a Villum Young Investigator grant (VIL19114). NG has received funding from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF16OC0019986). MEJ has received research grants from AstraZeneca, Sanofi Aventis, AMGEN, Boehringer Ingelheim and Novo Nordisk A/S. LL, FFS and ZL have received funding from the University of Copenhagen. The population surveys of Greenland were funded by the Department of Health, Greenland, The Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF17OC0028136 & NNF17SH0027192), The Independent Research Fund Denmark and Karen Elise Jensen\u2019s Foundation. The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research is an independent research centre at the University of Copenhagen partially funded by an unrestricted donation from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF18CC0034900). None of the funding agencies had any role in the study design or collection, analysis or interpretation of data.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

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