GIANT consortium

	
= GIANT: Genetic Investigation of ANthropometric Traits =


The '''G'''enetic '''I'''nvestigation of '''AN'''thropometric '''T'''raits ('''GIANT''') consortium is an international collaboration that seeks to identify genetic loci that modulate human body size and shape, including height and measures of obesity. The GIANT consortium is a collaboration between investigators from many different groups, institutions, countries, and studies, and the results represent their combined efforts. The primary approach has been meta-analysis of genome-wide association data and other large-scale genetic data sets. Anthropometric traits that have been studied by GIANT include body mass index (BMI), height, and traits related to waist circumference (such as waist-hip ratio adjusted for BMI, or WHRadjBMI). Thus far, the GIANT consortium has identified common genetic variants at hundreds of loci that are associated with anthropometric traits.
	
== Data Release ==

	We are releasing the summary data from our 2010 meta-analyses of GWA data, in order to enable other researchers to examine particular variants or loci for their evidence of association with anthropometric traits. The files include p-values and direction of effect at over 2 million directly genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). To prevent the possibility of identification of individuals from these summary results, we are not releasing allele frequency data from our samples. A manuscript describing the rationale for releasing association data but not frequency data is in preparation.
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	[[Click here to access the Summarized Genome-Wide Meta-analysis data files.]]

	

== Selected Recent Publications ==

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&amp;db=PubMed&amp;dopt=Citation&amp;list_uids=20935629 Heid, I.M., Jackson, A.U., Randall, J.C., Winkler, T.W., Qi, L., Steinthorsdottir, V., Thorleifsson, G., Zillikens, M.C., Speliotes, E.K., Magi, R., et al.] (2010). Meta-analysis identifies 13 new loci associated with waist-hip ratio and reveals sexual dimorphism in the genetic basis of fat distribution. Nat Genet <strong>42</strong>, 949-960.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&amp;db=PubMed&amp;dopt=Citation&amp;list_uids=20881960 Lango Allen, H., Estrada, K., Lettre, G., Berndt, S.I., Weedon, M.N., Rivadeneira, F., Willer, C.J., Jackson, A.U., Vedantam, S., Raychaudhuri, S., et al.] (2010). Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height. Nature <strong>467</strong>, 832-838.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&amp;db=PubMed&amp;dopt=Citation&amp;list_uids=19557161 Lindgren, C.M., Heid, I.M., Randall, J.C., Lamina, C., Steinthorsdottir, V., Qi, L., Speliotes, E.K., Thorleifsson, G., Willer, C.J., Herrera, B.M., et al.] (2009). Genome-wide association scan meta-analysis identifies three Loci influencing adiposity and fat distribution. PLoS Genet '''5''', e1000508.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&amp;db=PubMed&amp;dopt=Citation&amp;list_uids=20935630 Speliotes, E.K., Willer, C.J., Berndt, S.I., Monda, K.L., Thorleifsson, G., Jackson, A.U., Allen, H.L., Lindgren, C.M., Luan, J., Magi, R., et al.] (2010). Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index. Nat Genet <strong>42</strong>, 937-948.

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&amp;db=PubMed&amp;dopt=Citation&amp;list_uids=19079261 Willer, C.J., Speliotes, E.K., Loos, R.J., Li, S., Lindgren, C.M., Heid, I.M., Berndt, S.I., Elliott, A.L., Jackson, A.U., Lamina, C., et al.] (2009). Six new loci associated with body mass index highlight a neuronal influence on body weight regulation. Nat Genet <strong>41</strong>, 25-34.


	
== Participating Cohorts and Research Groups ==

	Link under construction.