Genetic Correlations Between Diabetes and Glaucoma: An Analysis of Continuous and Dichotomous Phenotypes.

Laville, Vincent; Kang, Jae H; Cousins, Clara C; Iglesias, Adriana I; Nagy, Réka; Cooke Bailey, Jessica N; Igo, Robert P; Song, Yeunjoo E et al. · Am J Ophthalmol · 2019

cross_sectional · Level IV

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Abstract

A genetic correlation is the proportion of phenotypic variance between traits that is shared on a genetic basis. Here we explore genetic correlations between diabetes- and glaucoma-related traits. Cross-sectional study. We assembled genome-wide association study summary statistics from European-derived participants regarding diabetes-related traits like fasting blood sugar (FBS) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) and glaucoma-related traits (intraocular pressure [IOP], central corneal thickness [CCT], corneal hysteresis [CH], corneal resistance factor [CRF], cup-to-disc ratio [CDR], and primary open-angle glaucoma [POAG]). We included data from the National Eye Institute Glaucoma Human Genetics Collaboration Heritable Overall Operational Database, the UK Biobank, and the International Glaucoma Genetics Consortium. We calculated genetic correlation (r<sub>g</sub>) between traits using linkage disequilibrium score regression. We also calculated genetic correlations between IOP, CCT, and select diabetes-related traits based on individual level phenotype data in 2 Northern European population-based samples using pedigree information and Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines. Overall, there was little r<sub>g</sub> between diabetes- and glaucoma-related traits. Specifically, we found a nonsignificant negative correlation between T2D and POAG (r<sub>g</sub> = -0.14; P = .16). Using Sequential Oligogenic Linkage Analysis Routines, the genetic correlations between measured IOP, CCT, FBS, fasting insulin, and hemoglobin A1c were null. In contrast, genetic correlations between IOP and POAG (r<sub>g</sub> ≥ 0.45; P ≤ 3.0 × 10<sup>-4</sup>) and between CDR and POAG were high (r<sub>g</sub> = 0.57; P = 2.8 × 10<sup>-10</sup>). However, genetic correlations between corneal properties (CCT, CRF, and CH) and POAG were low (r<sub>g</sub> range -0.18 to 0.11) and nonsignificant (P ≥ .07). These analyses suggest that there is limited genetic correlation between diabetes- and glaucoma-related traits.

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