Diversity and scale: Genetic architecture of 2068 traits in the VA Million Veteran Program

Science. 2024 Jul 19;385(6706):eadj1182. doi: 10.1126/science.adj1182. Epub 2024 Jul 19.

Abstract

One of the justifiable criticisms of human genetic studies is the underrepresentation of participants from diverse populations. Lack of inclusion must be addressed at-scale to identify causal disease factors and understand the genetic causes of health disparities. We present genome-wide associations for 2068 traits from 635,969 participants in the Department of Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program, a longitudinal study of diverse United States Veterans. Systematic analysis revealed 13,672 genomic risk loci; 1608 were only significant after including non-European populations. Fine-mapping identified causal variants at 6318 signals across 613 traits. One-third (n = 2069) were identified in participants from non-European populations. This reveals a broadly similar genetic architecture across populations, highlights genetic insights gained from underrepresented groups, and presents an extensive atlas of genetic associations.

MeSH terms

  • Female
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease*
  • Genetic Variation
  • Genome-Wide Association Study*
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
  • Quantitative Trait Loci*
  • United States
  • United States Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Veterans*