Gene-Environment Interactions in Complex Disease

September 29, 2021 updated by: Eric Boerwinkle, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
To assess genetic variation in 87 different cardiovascular disease candidate genes and to measure the associations of these variants with cardiovascular disease and its risk factors.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND:

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), the number one cause of death in industrialized countries today is a complex disease with a multifactorial etiology involving many genetic and environmental factors. Public health prevention programs designed to reduce the risk and occurrence of CVD commonly focus on modifiable environments and behaviors such as diet and physical activity, with varied results among individuals. This heterogeneity in response to CVD interventions is at least in part of genetic origin. Although a number of candidate genes have been identified which appear to influence the development of CVD, little is known about how these genetic effects may vary within demographic (e.g., race and gender) and environmental (e.g., diet and exercise) contexts; thus, it is of utmost importance to determine how genes and environments interact to produce CVD.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The purpose of this study is to characterize the environment-dependent effects of 87 biologic and positional candidate genes in a population-based sample of 11,625 African-American and Caucasian men and women from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Candidate loci were selected based on confirmed functional significance, consistent association with CVD or its risk factors, and or identified as positional candidates in genome-wide linkage scans. Environmental contexts will focus on dietary measures (e.g., total kcals, Keys score, alcohol intake), obesity, measures of physical activity (sport, leisure, and work indices), smoking, and menopause status/hormone use (women only). Outcome variables will include measures of quantitative risk factors (e.g., total cholesterol, BMI, blood pressure), subclinical disease (carotid wall thickness), and clinical disease (incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke). Existing DNA samples will be used for genotyping of candidate loci, and no further contact with study participants will be necessary. The ARIC cohort, because of its large size and wealth of environmental and physiological measures, provides an ideal, timely, and efficient opportunity to evaluate the effects of modifiable environments on genetic variation which may influence CVD risk and disease outcomes with the ultimate goal of establishing more efficacious programs for the treatment and prevention of CVD.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

15792

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

45 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Study Population

Subjects aged 14-65 from four communities.

Description

No eligibility criteria

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Cohort
  • Time Perspectives: Prospective

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Eric Boerwinkle, University of Texas

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

July 1, 2003

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 8, 2003

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 9, 2003

First Posted (Estimate)

July 10, 2003

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 1, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 29, 2021

Last Verified

September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1224 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Lineberger Cancer Center)
  • R01HL073366 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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