Glycemic traits are used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes, and cardiometabolic health. To date, most genetic studies of glycemic traits have focused on individuals of European ancestry. Here, we aggregated genome-wide association studies in up to 281,416 individuals without diabetes (30% non-European ancestry) with fasting glucose, 2h-glucose post-challenge, glycated hemoglobin, and fasting insulin data. Trans-ancestry and single-ancestry meta-analyses identified 242 loci (99 novel; P <5x10 -8 ), 80% with no significant evidence of between-ancestry heterogeneity. Analyses restricted to European ancestry individuals with equivalent sample size would have led to 24 fewer new loci. Compared to single-ancestry, equivalent sized trans-ancestry fine-mapping reduced the number of estimated variants in 99% credible sets by a median of 37.5%. Genomic feature, gene-expression and gene-set analyses revealed distinct biological signatures for each trait, highlighting different underlying biological pathways. Our results increase understanding of diabetes pathophysiology by use of trans-ancestry studies for improved power and resolution.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive clinical syndrome of unknown etiology and fatal outcome. Currently available therapies are ineffective and associated with significant adverse effects. Pirfenidone, a new, investigational antifibrotic agent, was evaluated for its tolerability and usefulness in terminally ill patients with advanced IPF. Consecutive patients with IPF and deterioration despite conventional therapy or who were unable to tolerate or unwilling to try conventional therapy were treated with oral pirfenidone. Treatment was administered on a compassionate basis (open-label). Fifty-four patients were followed for mortality, change in lung function, and adverse effects. Their mean age was 62, mean duration of symptoms 4.6 yr, and time since lung biopsy was 3.2 yr. Conventional therapy was discontinued in 38 of 46 patients; the other eight were able to decrease their prednisone dosage and eight had no previous conventional treatment. One- and 2-yr survival was 78% (95% CI 66%, 89%) and 63% (95% CI 50%, 76%), respectively. Patients whose lung functions had deteriorated prior to enrollment appeared to stabilize after beginning treatment. Adverse effects were relatively minor. The results of this study are encouraging. Pirfenidone is a promising new treatment for IPF that is well tolerated.

Background Right ventricular (RV) morphology is an important predictor of outcomes in heart and lung disease, however determinants of RV anatomy have not been well-studied. We examined the demographic factors associated with RV morphology and function in a population-based multiethnic sample free of clinical cardiovascular disease. Methods and Results The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) performed cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 5098 participants. RV volumes and mass were available for 4204 participants. Normative equations for RV parameters were derived using an allometric approach. The study sample (N = 4123) was 61.5 ± 10.1 years old and 47.5% male. Older age was associated with lower RV mass (~5% lower mass per decade) with larger age-related decrements in men than in women (p for interaction < 0.05). Older age was also associated with higher RV ejection fraction (RVEF), an association which differed between races/ethnicities (p for interaction ≤ 0.01). Overall, men had greater RV mass (~8%) and larger RV volumes than women, but had lower RVEF (4% in absolute terms) (p < 0.001). African Americans had lower RV mass than Caucasians (p ≤ 0.002), whereas Hispanics had higher RV mass (p ≤ 0.02). Using the derived normative equations, 7.3% (95%CI, 6.5–8.1%) met criteria for RV hypertrophy and 5.9% (95%CI, 5.2–6.6%) had RV dysfunction. Conclusions In conclusion, age, sex, and race are associated with significant differences in RV mass, RV volumes and RVEF, potentially explaining distinct responses of the RV to cardiopulmonary disease.

For many complex traits, gene regulation is likely to play a crucial mechanistic role. How the genetic architectures of complex traits vary between populations and subsequent effects on genetic prediction are not well understood, in part due to the historical paucity of GWAS in populations of non-European ancestry. We used data from the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) cohort to characterize the genetic architecture of gene expression within and between diverse populations. Genotype and monocyte gene expression were available in individuals with African American (AFA, n = 233), Hispanic (HIS, n = 352), and European (CAU, n = 578) ancestry. We performed expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) mapping in each population and show genetic correlation of gene expression depends on shared ancestry proportions. Using elastic net modeling with cross validation to optimize genotypic predictors of gene expression in each population, we show the genetic architecture of gene expression for most predictable genes is sparse. We found the best predicted gene in each population, TACSTD2 in AFA and CHURC1 in CAU and HIS, had similar prediction performance across populations with R2 > 0.8 in each population. However, we identified a subset of genes that are well-predicted in one population, but poorly predicted in another. We show these differences in predictive performance are due to allele frequency differences between populations. Using genotype weights trained in MESA to predict gene expression in independent populations showed that a training set with ancestry similar to the test set is better at predicting gene expression in test populations, demonstrating an urgent need for diverse population sampling in genomics. Our predictive models and performance statistics in diverse cohorts are made publicly available for use in transcriptome mapping methods at https://github.com/WheelerLab/DivPop.

Background A high degree of non-compacted (trabeculated) myocardium in relationship to compact myocardium (T/M ratio >2.3) has been associated with a diagnosis of left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC). The purpose of this study was to determine the normal range of the T/M ratio in a large population-based study and to examine the relationship to demographic and clinical parameters. Methods and Results The thickness of trabeculation and the compact myocardium were measured in eight LV regions on long axis cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) steady-state free precession cine images in 1000 participants (551 women; 68.1±8.9 years) of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis cohort. Of 323 participants without cardiac disease or hypertension and with all regions evaluable 140 (43%) had a T/M ratio >2.3 in at least one region; in 20/323 (6%), T/M>2.3 was present in more than two regions. Multivariable linear regression model revealed no association of age, gender, ethnicity, height and weight with maximum T/M ratio in participants without cardiac disease or hypertension (p>0.05). In the entire cohort (n=1000) LVEF (β=−0.02/%; p=0.015), LVEDV (β=0.01/ml; p=<0.0001) and LVESV (β=0.01/ml; p<0.001) were associated with maximum T/M ratio in adjusted models while there was no association with hypertension or myocardial infarction (p>0.05). At the apical level T/M ratios were significantly lower when obtained on short- compared to long-axis images (p=0.017). Conclusions A ratio of trabeculated to compact myocardium of more than 2.3 is common in a large population based cohort. These results suggest reevaluation of the current CMR criteria for LVNC may be necessary.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a relentlessly progressive disease with a median survival of ,3 yrs. Measurements of airflow and lung volumes at rest are generally used to monitor the clinical course in this disorder. This study was designed to determine if a modified version of the 6-min walk test, called the timed walk test, accurately characterises disease severity and survival in IPF.The study population consisted of 28 patients with well-characterised progressive IPF. The timed walk test and concurrent measures of disease severity were assessed at baseline. Participants were prospectively followed for o4 yrs to determine the relationship between parameters of the timed walk test and survival.There were strong correlations between the end-exercise saturation and walk-velocity parameters of the timed walk test and diffusing capacity, and arterial oxygen tension at rest. In univariate Cox proportional-hazards models, end-exercise saturation, change in saturation with exercise, walk distance and walk velocity were associated with survival. In unadjusted logistic regression models, odds of death at 2 yrs were associated with the same parameters.In conclusion, the timed walk test relates to disease severity and long-term outcome in progressive idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Novel proteomics platforms, such as the aptamer‐based SOMAscan platform, can quantify large numbers of proteins efficiently and cost‐effectively and are rapidly growing in popularity. However, comparisons to conventional immunoassays remain underexplored, leaving investigators unsure when cross‐assay comparisons are appropriate. The correlation of results from immunoassays with relative protein quantification is explored by SOMAscan. For 63 proteins assessed in two chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) cohorts, subpopulations and intermediate outcome measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS), and COPDGene, using myriad rules based medicine multiplex immunoassays and SOMAscan, Spearman correlation coefficients range from −0.13 to 0.97, with a median correlation coefficient of ≈0.5 and consistent results across cohorts. A similar range is observed for immunoassays in the population‐based Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and for other assays in COPDGene and SPIROMICS. Comparisons of relative quantification from the antibody‐based Olink platform and SOMAscan in a small cohort of myocardial infarction patients also show a wide correlation range. Finally, cis pQTL data, mass spectrometry aptamer confirmation, and other publicly available data are integrated to assess relationships with observed correlations. Correlation between proteomics assays shows a wide range and should be carefully considered when comparing and meta‐analyzing proteomics data across assays and studies.

Background Changes in right ventricular (RV) morphology are associated with morbidity and mortality in heart and lung disease. We examined the association of abnormal RV structure and function with the risk of heart failure (HF) or cardiovascular death in a population-based multiethnic sample free of clinical cardiovascular disease at baseline. Methods and Results The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) performed cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on 5098 participants between 2000–2002 with follow-up for incident heart failure and cardiovascular death (“death”) until January 2008. RV volumes and mass were available for 4204 participants. The study sample (N = 4,144) was 61.4 ± 10.1 years old and 47.6 % male. The presence of RV hypertrophy (increased RV mass) was associated with a more than twice the risk of heart failure or death after adjustment for demographics, body mass index, education, C-reactive protein level, hypertension, and smoking status (HR = 2.52, 95%CI 1.55–4.10, p < 0.001) and a doubling of risk (or more) with left ventricular mass at the mean value or lower (p for interaction = 0.05). Conclusions RV hypertrophy was associated with the risk of heart failure or death in a multi-ethnic population free of clinical cardiovascular disease at baseline.