Meta-analysis of loci associated with age at natural menopause in African-American women

Abstract

Age atmenopause marks the end of a woman's reproductive life and its timing associates with risks for cancer, cardiovascular and bone disorders.GWAS and candidate gene studies conducted in women of European ancestry have identified 27 loci associated with age at men opause. The relevance of these loci to women of African ancestry has not been previously studied. We therefore sought to uncover additional menopause loci and investigate the relevance of European menopause loci by performing a GWAS meta-analysis in 6510 women with Africanancestry derivedfrom 11studies across the USA.We did not identify any additional loci significantly associated with age at men opause in African Americans.We replicated the associations between six lociandage at men opause (P-value < 0.05): AMHR2, RHBLD2, PRIM1, HK3/UMC1, BRSK1/TMEM150B and MCM8. In addition, associations of 14 loci are directionally consistent with previous reports. We provide evidence that genetic variants influencing reproductive traits identified in European populations are also important in women of African ancestry residing in USA. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.