A Resource for Genetic Epidemiology Research in Adult Health and Aging

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this "Grand Opportunities" project is to create a unique and comprehensive population-based resource for research into the genetic and environmental basis of common age-related diseases and their treatment, and factors influencing healthy aging and longevity. The proposed resource will bring together into a broadly accessible database, an extraordinarily rich set of data on 100,000 participants in the Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health (RPGEH), based in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Plan in Northern California (KPNC). The RPGEH includes data from the comprehensive, longitudinal electronic medical records of KPNC; a participant questionnaire with demographic, behavioral, and other risk factor data; a geographic information system (GIS) database that maps environmental exposures (e.g., air and water quality) and neighborhood characteristics to participants' residential histories; and saliva samples obtained from all participants using Oragene kits. The 100,000 completed participants in RPGEH have broadly consented to have their DNA and other data used to conduct studies of genetic and environmental influences on health and disease. The average age of the subjects is 65 years, with good representation of all the major ethnic groups. In this proposal, we are specifically requesting funds to add valuable genome-wide association data for 700,000 SNPs and measures of telomere length to the resource using a novel Affymetrix GeneTitan genotyping system, to enable comprehensive studies of genetic and environmental factors that influence the risk of adult-onset diseases and their treatment, and healthy aging. The selection of SNPs will be customized to facilitate the detection of new associations and to follow up previously identified associations. The longitudinal nature of the electronic clinical records maintained by KPNC means that the phenotype data subject to analysis can be used to address questions of health and disease over time. We anticipate that this resource will serve the needs of a vast array of researchers both nationally and internationally to investigate complex questions regarding aging, both for the short term and for years to come. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this "Grand Opportunities" project is to create a unique and comprehensive population-based resource for research into the genetic and environmental basis of common age-related diseases and their treatment, and factors influencing healthy aging and longevity. The proposed resource will bring together into a broadly accessible database, an extraordinarily rich set of data on 100,000 participants. The proposed project will add genetic data on 700,000 SNPs and data on telomere length to data from comprehensive electronic health records; a participant questionnaire with demographic, behavioral, and other risk factor data; a geographic information system (GIS) database that maps environmental exposures to participants' residential histories.