ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The genetic aetiology of osteoarthritis has not yet been elucidated. To enable a well-powered genome-wide association study (GWAS) for osteoarthritis, the authors have formed the arcOGEN Consortium, a UK-wide collaborative effort aiming to scan genome-wide over 7500 osteoarthritis cases in a two-stage genome-wide association scan. Here the authors report the findings of the stage 1 interim analysis. METHODS: The authors have performed a genome-wide association scan for knee and hip osteoarthritis in 3177 cases and 4894 population-based controls from the UK. Replication of promising signals was carried out in silico in five further scans (44,449 individuals), and de novo in 14 534 independent samples, all of European descent. RESULTS: None of the association signals the authors identified reach genome-wide levels of statistical significance, therefore stressing the need for corroboration in sample sets of a larger size. Application of analytical approaches to examine the allelic architecture of disease to the stage 1 genome-wide association scan data suggests that osteoarthritis is a highly polygenic disease with multiple risk variants conferring small effects. CONCLUSIONS: Identifying loci conferring susceptibility to osteoarthritis will require large-scale sample sizes and well-defined phenotypes to minimise heterogeneity.
Subject(s)
Osteoarthritis, Hip/genetics , Osteoarthritis, Knee/genetics , Case-Control Studies , Genetic Predisposition to Disease , Genome-Wide Association Study , Humans , Multifactorial Inheritance , Polymorphism, Single NucleotideABSTRACT
As rapid social changes occur around the world, accompanied by increasingly larger numbers of elderly in need of care, it is crucial to gain new knowledge of the relationship between changing social institutions and the impact of such changes on the context in which care is given to the elderly.In Japan, the family has tradiditnally been the context in which caregiving occurs. Although family care still remains central, 22 focus groups conducted in Tokyo in 1982 and 1990 with three different age groups (N=175) reflect the significant changes which are occurring in the traditional Japanese family system-despite important continuities-and the manner in which these changes are influencing the Japanese approach to care for the elderly.In this article, we focus on material, instrumental, and emotional reciprocity among adult generations within the Japanese family. Our data suggest that families mix traditional options with newer ones in providing care to their elders.
