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Meta-analyses identify 13 loci associated with age at menopause and highlight DNA repair and immune pathways

  • Lisette Stolk
  • , John R.B. Perry
  • , Daniel I. Chasman
  • , Chunyan He
  • , Massimo Mangino
  • , Patrick Sulem
  • , Maja Barbalic
  • , Linda Broer
  • , Enda M. Byrne
  • , Florian Ernst
  • , Tmu Esko
  • , Nora Franceschini
  • , Daniel F. Gudbjartsson
  • , Jouke Jan Hottenga
  • , Peter Kraft
  • , Patrick F. McArdle
  • , Eleonora Porcu
  • , So Youn Shin
  • , Albert V. Smith
  • , Sophie Van Wingerden
  • Guangju Zhai, Wei V. Zhuang, Eva Albrecht, Behrooz Z. Alizadeh, Thor Aspelund, Stefania Bandinelli, Lovorka Barac Lauc, Jacques S. Beckmann, Mladen Boban, Eric Boerwinkle, Frank J. Broekmans, Andrea Burri, Harry Campbell, Stephen J. Chanock, Constance Chen, Marilyn C. Cornelis, Tanguy Corre, Andrea D. Coviello, Pio D'Adamo, Gail Davies, Ulf De Faire, Eco J.C. De Geus, Ian J. Deary, George V.Z. Dedoussis, Panagiotis Deloukas, Shah Ebrahim, Gudny Eiriksdottir, Valur Emilsson, Johan G. Eriksson, Bart C.J.M. Fauser, Liana Ferreli, Luigi Ferrucci, Krista Fischer, Aaron R. Folsom, Melissa E. Garcia, Paolo Gasparini, Christian Gieger, Nicole Glazer, Diederick E. Grobbee, Per Hall, Toomas Haller, Susan E. Hankinson, Merli Hass, Caroline Hayward, Andrew C. Heath, Albert Hofman, Erik Ingelsson, A. Cecile J.W. Janssens, Andrew D. Johnson, David Karasik, Sharon L.R. Kardia, Jules Keyzer, Douglas P. Kiel, Ivana Kolcic, Zoltn Kutalik, Jari Lahti, Sandra Lai, Triin Laisk, Joop S.E. Laven, Debbie A. Lawlor, Jianjun Liu, Lorna M. Lopez, Yvonne V. Louwers, Patrik K.E. Magnusson, Mara Marongiu, Nicholas G. Martin, Irena Martinovic Klaric, Corrado Masciullo, Barbara McKnight, Sarah E. Medland, David Melzer, Vincent Mooser, Pau Navarro, Anne B. Newman, Dale R. Nyholt, N. Charlotte Onland-Moret, Aarno Palotie, Guillaume Paré, Alex N. Parker, Nancy L. Pedersen, Petra H.M. Peeters, Giorgio Pistis, Andrew S. Plump, Ozren Polasek, Victor J.M. Pop, Bruce M. Psaty, Katri R Currency Signikkönen, Emil Rehnberg, Jerome I. Rotter, Igor Rudan, Cinzia Sala, Andres Salumets, Angelo Scuteri, Andrew Singleton, Jennifer A. Smith, Harold Snieder, Nicole Soranzo, Simon N. Stacey, John M. Starr, Maria G. Stathopoulou, Kathleen Stirrups, Ronald P. Stolk, Unnur Styrkarsdottir, Yan V. Sun, Albert Tenesa, Barbara Thorand, Daniela Toniolo, Laufey Tryggvadottir, Kim Tsui, Sheila Ulivi, Rob M. Van Dam, Yvonne T. Van Der Schouw, Carla H. Van Gils, Peter Van Nierop, Jacqueline M. Vink, Peter M. Visscher, Marlies Voorhuis, Gérard Waeber, Henri Wallaschofski, H. Erich Wichmann, Elisabeth Widen, Colette J.M. Wijnands-Van Gent, Gonneke Willemsen, James F. Wilson, Bruce H.R. Wolffenbuttel, Alan F. Wright, Laura M. Yerges-Armstrong, Tatijana Zemunik, Lina Zgaga, M. Carola Zillikens, Marek Zygmunt, Alice M. Arnold, Dorret I. Boomsma, Julie E. Buring, Laura Crisponi, Ellen W. Demerath, Vilmundur Gudnason, Tamara B. Harris, Frank B. Hu, David J. Hunter, Lenore J. Launer, Andres Metspalu, Grant W. Montgomery, Ben A. Oostra, Paul M. Ridker, Serena Sanna, David Schlessinger, Tim D. Spector, Kari Stefansson, Elizabeth A. Streeten, Unnur Thorsteinsdottir, Manuela Uda, André G. Uitterlinden, Cornelia M. Van Duijn, Henry Völzke, Anna Murray*, Joanne M. Murabito, Jenny A. Visser, Kathryn L. Lunetta
*Corresponding author for this work
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Netherlands Consortium for Healthy Aging
  • University of Exeter
  • University of Oxford
  • Division of Preventive Medicine
  • Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Harvard University
  • Department of Public Health
  • Indiana University Bloomington
  • Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology
  • King's College London
  • deCODE Genetics
  • University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • Department of Epidemiology
  • Queensland Institute of Medical Research
  • Interfakultäres Institut für Genomforschung
  • University of Greifswald
  • University of Tartu
  • Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology
  • Department of Epidemiology
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  • Department of Epidemiology
  • Broad Institute
  • Division of Endocrinology
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Istituto di Ricerca Genetica e Biomedica
  • National Research Council of Italy
  • Wellcome Trust
  • Icelandic Heart Association
  • University of Iceland
  • Discipline of Genetics
  • Memorial University of Newfoundland
  • Department of Biostatistics
  • Boston University
  • Institute of Genetic Epidemiology
  • Helmholtz Zentrum München - German Research Center for Environmental Health
  • Department of Epidemiology
  • University of Groningen
  • Azienda Sanitaria Firenze
  • Croatian Science Foundation
  • Department of Medical Genetics
  • University of Lausanne
  • Service of Medical Genetics
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • University of Split
  • Department of Reproductive Medicine and Gynaecology
  • Utrecht University
  • Centre for Population Health Sciences
  • University of Edinburgh
  • Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Department of Nutrition
  • Division of Genetics and Cell Biology
  • San Raffaele Scientific Institute
  • Sections of General Internal Medicine
  • Department of Medicine
  • National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s and Boston University’s Framingham Heart Study
  • Institute for Maternal and Child Health
  • IRCCS Ospedale Infantile Burlo Garofolo - Trieste
  • University of Trieste
  • Department of Psychology
  • Institute of Environmental Medicine
  • Karolinska Institutet
  • Department of Biological Psychology
  • VU University Medical Center
  • Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology
  • Department of Dietetics-Nutrition
  • Harokopio University
  • Department of Epidemiology and Population Health
  • London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • National Institute for Health and Welfare
  • Vaasa Hospital District
  • Longitudinal Studies Section
  • Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
  • University of Minnesota Twin Cities
  • Laboratory of Epidemiology
  • Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
  • Channing Laboratory
  • Washington University St. Louis
  • Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research
  • Department of Epidemiology
  • University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • Diagnostic GP Laboratory Eindhoven
  • Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
  • Institute of Behavioural Sciences
  • University of Helsinki
  • Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • University of Tartu
  • MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology
  • University of Bristol
  • Human Genetics
  • Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
  • University of Zagreb
  • University of Washington
  • Genetics Division
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Departments of Epidemiology and Medicine
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Institute for Molecular Genetics Finland
  • Department of Medical Genetics
  • Helsinki University Hospital
  • Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory
  • McMaster University
  • Amgen Incorporated
  • Foundation Medicine, Inc.
  • Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
  • Faculty of Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Merck Research Laboratories
  • Department of Clinical Health Psychology
  • Tilburg University
  • Department of Epidemiology and Health Services
  • Group Health Cooperative
  • Medical Genetics Institute
  • Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
  • Competence Centre on Reproductive Medicine and Biology
  • Lab Cardiovascular Sciences
  • Laboratory of Neurogenetics
  • LifeLines Cohort Study
  • Geriatric Medicine Unit
  • Cardiovascular Genetics Research Unit
  • Université de Lorraine
  • Department of Epidemiology
  • Emory University
  • Institute of Epidemiology II
  • Insitute of Molecular Genetics
  • Icelandic Cancer Society
  • Epidemiology Domain
  • National University of Singapore
  • Municipal Health Service Brabant-Zuidoost
  • Genetic Epidemiology
  • Department of Internal Medicine
  • Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
  • Institute of Epidemiology i
  • Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
  • POZOB Veldhoven
  • Department of Endocrinology
  • Andrija Stampar School of Public Health
  • Klinik für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe
  • Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care
  • Division of Cardiology
  • Unit of General Practice
  • Intramural Research Program
  • NIA
  • Folkhalsan
  • Institute of Medical Informatics
  • Institut für Community Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

To newly identify loci for age at natural menopause, we carried out a meta-analysis of 22 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 38,968 women of European descent, with replication in up to 14,435 women. In addition to four known loci, we identified 13 loci newly associated with age at natural menopause (at P < 5 - 10 g8). Candidate genes located at these newly associated loci include genes implicated in DNA repair (EXO1, HELQ, UIMC1, FAM175A, FANCI, TLK1, POLG and PRIM1) and immune function (IL11, NLRP11 and PRRC2A (also known as BAT2)). Gene-set enrichment pathway analyses using the full GWAS data set identified exoDNase, NF-I °B signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction as biological processes related to timing of menopause.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)260-268
Number of pages9
JournalNature Genetics
Volume44
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2012
Externally publishedYes

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