Genetic Variation and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Cohort Study on Migrants from the Former Soviet Union and a Native German Population

Marianne Huebner, Daniela Börnigen, Andreas Deckert, Rolf Holle, Christa Meisinger, Martina Müller-Nurasyid, Annette Peters, Wolfgang Rathmann and Heiko Becher
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Marianne Huebner: Institute for Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Daniela Börnigen: Bioinformatics Core Facility, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Andreas Deckert: Institute of Global Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Christa Meisinger: German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Martina Müller-Nurasyid: Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München—German Research Center for Environmental Health, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Annette Peters: German Research Center for Environmental Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Wolfgang Rathmann: German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), München-Neuherberg, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
Heiko Becher: Institute for Biometry and Epidemiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-11

Abstract: Resettlers are a large migrant group of more than 2 million people in Germany who migrated mainly from the former Soviet Union to Germany after 1989. We sought to compare the distribution of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and to investigate the overall genetic differences in a study population which consisted of resettlers and native (autochthone) Germans. This was a joint analysis of two cohort studies which were performed in the region of Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany, with 3363 native Germans and 363 resettlers. Data from questionnaires and physical examinations were used to compare the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases between the resettlers and native Germans. A population-based genome-wide association analysis was performed in order to identify the genetic differences between the two groups. The distribution of the major risk factors for CVD differed between the two groups. The resettlers lead a less active lifestyle. While female resettlers smoked less than their German counterparts, the men showed similar smoking behavior. SNPs from three genes (BTNL2, DGKB, TGFBR3) indicated a difference in the two populations. In other studies, these genes have been shown to be associated with CVD, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, respectively.

Keywords: migrants; resettlers; genetic differences; cardiovascular diseases; GWAS; lifestyle; Germany (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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