UK Biobank Genetic Analyses Enhancement

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During the next 18 months, it is intended to measure about 600,000 genetic markers in the DNA extracted from blood samples that have already been collected from each of the 500,000 participants in UK Biobank. When these “genotype” measurements are combined with whole genome sequence data from a few thousand or tens of thousands of UK individuals, it will be possible to “impute” (i.e. estimate) very many more genetic variants in the region of the DNA adjacent to the variants that have been measured. The combination of these detailed genotyping data with the extensive range of known biochemical risk factors that are currently being measured in blood and urine samples from the UK Biobank participants, along with the detailed information from questionnaires and physical measurements conducted at the initial assessment visits and from linkage to health records about the development of disease during long-term follow-up, will make UK Biobank uniquely rich as a resource for researchers from all areas of health to conduct studies of the relevance of genes to disease rapidly and cost-effectively. Hence, these detailed genotype data will facilitate research that harnesses the full power of UK Biobank to help understand the causes of many different diseases.