Cardiovascular disease heritability estimates differ across three US and UK biobanks
SNP-based heritability for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease varied significantly among Geisinger MyCode, UK Biobank and NIH All of Us, according to a study published in the Journal of Human Genetics. UK Biobank showed consistently higher values. The team used GWAS summary statistics and LD score regression to compare heritability and genetic correlation for ASCVD and nested subphenotypes across the cohorts. Heritability was higher for more narrowly defined phenotypes like myocardial infarction compared to broader ASCVD definitions. Genetic correlations between cohorts remained uniformly high, with confidence intervals spanning 1.0. Cross-cohort heritability differences likely reflect variations in disease ascertainment and phenotype capture rather than underlying genetic architecture.
Clinicians interpreting genetic risk scores for cardiovascular disease should account for biobank-specific ascertainment methods.
Written by the Genomes desk from the primary source cited and linked above and checked against it. Research use only; not medical advice. Corrections: [email protected].