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The Haemgen RBC study

Anaemia is a major determinant of global ill-health. To refine our understanding of the genetic factors influencing red blood cell formation and function, we carried out a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for six red blood cell traits: haemoglobin (HB), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean cell volume (MCV), packed cell volume (PCV) and red blood cell count (RBC). We provide genome-wide association results for 62,553 people of European ancestry using up to 2,644,161 autosomal SNPs. Participants with extreme measurements (>+/-3SD from mean) were excluded on a per phenotype basis. Imputation was done using haplotypes from HapMap Phase 2. SNP associations with each phenotype were tested by linear regression using an additive genetic model. Associations were tested separately in each cohort, with principal components and other study specific factors as covariates to account of population substructure. We then carried out meta-analysis of results from the individual cohorts using z-scores weighted by square root of sample size. SNPs with MAF<1% (weighted average across cohorts) were removed, as were SNPs with weight <50% of phenotype sample size. Anaemia is a major determinant of global ill-health. To refine our understanding of the genetic factors influencing red blood cell formation and function, we carried out a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for six red blood cell traits: haemoglobin (HB), mean cell haemoglobin (MCH), mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean cell volume (MCV), packed cell volume (PCV) and red blood cell count (RBC). We provide genome-wide association results for 62,553 people of European ancestry using up to 2,644,161 autosomal SNPs. Participants with extreme measurements (>+/-3SD from mean) were excluded on a per phenotype basis. Imputation was done using haplotypes from HapMap Phase 2. SNP associations with each phenotype were tested by linear regression using an additive genetic model. Associations were tested separately in each cohort, with principal components and other study specific factors as covariates to account of population substructure. We then carried out meta-analysis of results from the individual cohorts using z-scores weighted by square root of sample size. SNPs with MAF<1% (weighted average across cohorts) were removed, as were SNPs with weight <50% of phenotype sample size.

Click on a Dataset ID in the table below to learn more, and to find out who to contact about access to these data

Dataset ID Description Technology Samples
EGAD00010000300 Affymetrix Illumina Perlegen 1
Publications Citations
Seventy-five genetic loci influencing the human red blood cell.
Nature 492: 2012 369-375
227
Joint analysis of functional genomic data and genome-wide association studies of 18 human traits.
Am J Hum Genet 94: 2014 559-573
336
Local Genetic Correlation Gives Insights into the Shared Genetic Architecture of Complex Traits.
Am J Hum Genet 101: 2017 737-751
117
Large-scale genome-wide enrichment analyses identify new trait-associated genes and pathways across 31 human phenotypes.
Nat Commun 9: 2018 4361
41
Bayesian multivariate reanalysis of large genetic studies identifies many new associations.
PLoS Genet 15: 2019 e1008431
8