Genome-wide association study meta-analysis of blood pressure traits and hypertension in sub-Saharan African populations: an AWI-Gen study

Surina Singh; Ananyo Choudhury; Scott Hazelhurst; Nigel J Crowther; Palwendé R Boua; Hermann Sorgho; Godfred Agongo; Engelbert A Nonterah; Lisa K Micklesfield; Shane A Norris; Isaac Kisiangani; Shukri Mohamed; Francesc X Gómez-Olivé; Stephen M Tollman; Solomon Choma; J-T Brandenburg; Michèle Ramsay

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-44079-0

Genome-wide association study meta-analysis of blood pressure traits and hypertension in sub-Saharan African populations: an AWI-Gen study

Nat Commun. 2023 Dec 16;14(1):8376. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-44079-0.

Authors

Surina Singh^{1

2}, Ananyo Choudhury³, Scott Hazelhurst^{3

4}, Nigel J Crowther⁵, Palwendé R Boua^{3

6}, Hermann Sorgho⁶, Godfred Agongo^{7

8}, Engelbert A Nonterah^{8

9}, Lisa K Micklesfield¹⁰, Shane A Norris^{10

11}, Isaac Kisiangani¹², Shukri Mohamed¹², Francesc X Gómez-Olivé¹³, Stephen M Tollman¹³, Solomon Choma¹⁴, J-T Brandenburg^#^{3

15}, Michèle Ramsay^#^{16

17}

Affiliations

¹ Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. [email protected].
² Division of Human Genetics, National Health Laboratory Service and School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. [email protected].
³ Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁴ School of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁵ Department of Chemical Pathology, National Health Laboratory Service, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
⁶ Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro, Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Sante, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
⁷ Department of Biochemistry and Forensic Sciences, School of Chemical and Biochemical Sciences, C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo, Ghana.
⁸ Navrongo Health Research Centre, Ghana Health Service, Navrongo, Ghana.
⁹ Julius Global Health, Julius Centre for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands.
¹⁰ SAMRC Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹¹ School of Health and Human Development, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
¹² African Population and Health Research Center, Nairobi, Kenya.
¹³ MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt), School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁴ Department of Medical Science, Public Health and Health Promotion, School of Health Care Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo, Polokwane, South Africa.
¹⁵ Strengthening Oncology Services, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
¹⁶ Sydney Brenner Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. [email protected].
¹⁷ Division of Human Genetics, National Health Laboratory Service and School of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. [email protected].

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Most hypertension-related genome-wide association studies (GWASs) focus on non-African populations, despite hypertension (a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease) being highly prevalent in Africa. The AWI-Gen study GWAS meta-analysis for blood pressure (BP)-related traits (systolic and diastolic BP, pulse pressure, mean-arterial pressure and hypertension) from three sub-Saharan African geographic regions (N = 10,775), identifies two novel genome-wide significant signals (p < 5E-08): systolic BP near P2RY1 (rs77846204; intergenic variant, p = 4.95E-08) and pulse pressure near LINC01256 (rs80141533; intergenic variant, p = 1.76E-08). No genome-wide signals are detected for the AWI-Gen GWAS meta-analysis with previous African-ancestry GWASs (UK Biobank (African), Uganda Genome Resource). Suggestive signals (p < 5E-06) are observed for all traits, with 29 SNPs associating with more than one trait and several replicating known associations. Polygenic risk scores (PRSs) developed from studies on different ancestries have limited transferability, with multi-ancestry PRS providing better prediction. This study provides insights into the genetics of BP variation in African populations.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis

MeSH terms

Black People / genetics
Blood Pressure / genetics
Genome-Wide Association Study*
Humans
Hypertension* / epidemiology
Hypertension* / genetics
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Uganda

Grants and funding

U54 HG006938/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/United States