Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item REACh for the preschoolers; a developmental assessment tool for 2-5 year old children in Sri Lanka(BioMed Central, 2023) Caldera, A.V.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Muttiah, N.; Godamunne, P.K.S.; Jayasena, B.N.; Chathurika, L.K.E.; Perera, K.M.N.; Mendis, M.; Tilakarathne, D.; Peiris, M.K.R.R.; Wijesinghe, T.; Senarathna, N.E.; Saubhagya, W.D.L.; Chandraratne, M.; Sumanasena, S.P.BACKGROUND: Preschool children in low resource settings are at higher risk of missing developmental potential due to the lack of standardized and validated methods for the timely detection of children with developmental delays or neurodevelopmental disorders. The preschool teacher is a non-specialist resourceful link within the community to detect and offer interventions early. This paper discusses the preliminary iteration of designing and testing the psychometric properties of a developmental assessment for children aged 24 to 60 months in Sri Lanka. This assessment is designed to be conducted by preschool teachers in their preschool setting. METHODS: Three processes followed: 1. Designing and development of the Ragama Early Assessment for Children (REACh) complete preschool developmental assessment and a tool kit 2. Testing and training teachers on conducting the REACh assessment 3. Preliminary assessment of the psychometric properties including content validity, internal consistency, interrater reliability and concurrent validity. RESULTS: A literature search identified 11 assessments and 542 items representing cognitive, social-emotional and adaptive, language and motor domains. Content validity was assessed to select and adapt items. A complete assessment tool was designed to be administered in four settings within the preschool. This was further improved during pre and pilot testing and teacher training. Cronbach's alpha measuring internal consistency was > 0.70 for cognitive, language, social-emotional and adaptive domains across all three age groups in 1809 children. Interrater reliability was > 65% for age groups 36-47 and 47- 60 months. Concurrent validity using a clinical gold standard demonstrated sensitivity of more than 0.75 for all age groups with variable specificities (24-35 months: 0.71, 36- 47 months: 0.43 and 48-60 months: 0.67) assessed in 75 children. CONCLUSIONS: This culturally and linguistically adapted tool was tested nationally in Sri Lanka. The inte-rrater reliability between teachers and research assistants was higher than 65% for all domains in children more than 36 months. The preliminary iteration confirms it as an acceptable screening assessment for all age groups but with significantly lower specificity in the 36-47 month age group. Further improvement in certain domains together with intense teacher training is likely to enhance the validity and reliability of the assessment.Item Implicating genes, pleiotropy, and sexual dimorphism at blood lipid loci through multi-ancestry meta-analysis(BioMed Central Ltd, 2022) Kanoni, S.; Graham, S.E.; Wang, Y.; Surakka, I.; Ramdas, S.; Zhu, X.; Clarke, S.L.; Bhatti, K.F.; Vedantam, S.; Winkler, T.W.; Locke, A.E.; Marouli, E.; Zajac, G.J.M.; Wu, K.H.; Ntalla, I.; Hui, Q.; Klarin, D.; Hilliard, A.T.; Wang, Z.; Xue, C.; Thorleifsson, G.; Helgadottir, A.; Gudbjartsson, D.F.; Holm, H.; Olafsson, I.; Hwang, M.Y.; Han, S.; Akiyama, M.; Sakaue, S.; Terao, C.; Kanai, M.; Zhou, W.; Brumpton, B.M.; Rasheed, H.; Havulinna, A.S.; Veturi, Y.; Pacheco, J.A.; Rosenthal, E.A.; Lingren, T.; Feng, Q.; Kullo, I.J.; Narita, A.; Takayama, J.; Martin, H.C.; Hunt, K.A.; Trivedi, B.; Haessler, J.; Giulianini, F.; Bradford, Y.; Miller, J.E.; Campbell, A.; Lin, K.; Lin, K.; Millwood, I.Y.; Rasheed, A.; Hindy, G.; Faul, J.D.; Zhao, W.; Weir, D.R.; Turman, C.; Huang, H.; Graff, M.; Choudhury, A.; Sengupta, D.; Mahajan, A.; Brown, M.R.; Zhang, W.; Yu, K.; Schmidt, E.M.; Pandit, A.; Gustafsson, S.; Yin, X.; Luan, J.; Zhao, J.H.; Matsuda, F.; Jang, H.M.; Yoon, K.; Medina-Gomez, C.; Pitsillides, A.; Hottenga, J.J.; Wood, A.R.; Ji, Y.; Gao, Z.; Haworth, S.; Yousri, N.A.; Mitchell, R.E.; Chai, J.F.; Aadahl, M.; Bjerregaard, A.A.; Yao, J.; Manichaikul, A.; Hwu, C.M.; Hung, Y.J.; Warren, H.R.; Ramirez, J.; Bork-Jensen, J.; Kårhus, L.L.; Goel, A.; Sabater-Lleal, M.; Noordam, R.; Mauro, P.; Matteo, F.; McDaid, A.F.; Marques-Vidal, P.; Wielscher, M.; Trompet, S.; Sattar, N.; Møllehave, L.T.; Munz, M.; Zeng, L.; Huang, J.; Yang, B.; Poveda, A.; Kurbasic, A.; Lamina, C.; Forer, L.; Scholz, M.; Galesloot, T.E.; Bradfield, J.P.; Ruotsalainen, S.E.; Daw, E.; Zmuda, J.M.; Mitchell, J.S.; Fuchsberger, C.; Christensen, H.; Brody, J.A.; Vazquez-Moreno, M.; Feitosa, M.F.; Wojczynski, M.K.; Wang, Z.; Preuss, M.H.; Mangino, M.; Christofidou, P.; Verweij, N.; Benjamins, J.W.; Engmann, J.; Tsao, N.L.; Verma, A.; Slieker, R.C.; Lo, K.S.; Zilhao, N.R.; Le, P.; Kleber, M.E.; Delgado, G.E.; Huo, S.; Ikeda, D.D.; Iha, H.; Yang, J.; Liu, J.; Demirkan, A.; Leonard, H.L.; Marten, J.; Frank, M.; Schmidt, B.; Smyth, L.J.; Cañadas-Garre, M.; Wang, C.; Nakatochi, M.; Wong, A.; Hutri-Kähönen, N.; Lyssenko, V.; Fernandez-Lopez, J.C.; Huerta-Chagoya, A.; Xia, R.; Sim, X.; Nongmaithem, S.S.; Bayyana, S.; Stringham, H.M.; Irvin, M.R.; Oldmeadow, C.; Kim, H.N.; Ryu, S.; Timmers, P,R,H,J,; Arbeeva, L.; Dorajoo, R.; Lange, L.A.; Prasad, G.; Lorés-Motta, L.; Pauper, M.; Long, J.; Li, X.; Theusch, E.; Takeuchi, F.; Spracklen, C.N.; Loukola, A.; Bollepalli, S.; Warner, S.C.; Wang, Y.X.; Wei, W.B.; Nutile, T.; Ruggiero, D.; Sung, Y.J.; Chen, S.; Liu, F.; Yang, J.; Kentistou, K.A.; Banas, B.; Nardone, G.G.; Meidtner, K.; Bielak, L.F.; Smith, J.A.; Hebbar, P.; Farmaki, A.E.; Hofer, E.; Lin, M.; Concas, M.P.; Vaccargiu, S.; van der Most, P.J.; Pitkänen, N.; Cade, B.E.; van der Laan, S.W.; Chitrala, K.N.; Weiss, S.; Bentley, A.R.; Doumatey, A.P.; Adeyemo, A.A.; Lee, J.Y.; Petersen, E.R.B.; Nielsen, A.A.; Choi, H.S.; Nethander, M.; Freitag-Wolf, S.; Southam, L.; Rayner, N.W.; Wang, C.A.; Lin, S.Y.; Wang, J.S.; Couture, C.; Lyytikäinen, L.P.; Nikus, K.; Cuellar-Partida, G.; Vestergaard, H.; Hidalgo, B.; Giannakopoulou, O.; Cai, Q.; Obura, M.O.; van Setten, J.; Li, X.; Liang, J.; Tang, H.; Terzikhan, N.; Shin, J.H.; Jackson, R.D.; Reiner, A.P.; Martin, L.W.; Chen, Z.; Li, L.; Kawaguchi, T.; Thiery, J.; Bis, J.C.; Launer, L.J.; Li, H.; Nalls, M.A.; Raitakari, O.T.; Ichihara, S.; Wild, S.H.; Nelson, C.P.; Campbell, H.; Jäger, S.; Nabika, T.; Al-Mulla, F.; Niinikoski, H.; Braund, P.S.; Kolcic, I.; Kovacs, P.; Giardoglou, T.; Katsuya, T.; de Kleijn, D.; de Borst, G.J.; Kim, E.K.; Adams, H.H.H.; Ikram, M.A.; Zhu, X.; Asselbergs, F.W.; Kraaijeveld, A.O.; Beulens, J.W.J.; Shu, X.O.; Rallidis, L.S.; Pedersen, O.; Hansen, T.; Mitchell, P.; Hewitt, A.W.; Kähönen, M.; Pérusse, L.; Bouchard, C.; Tönjes, A.; Chen, Y.I.; Pennell, C.E.; Mori, T.A.; Lieb, W.; Franke, A.; Ohlsson, C.; Mellström, D.; Cho, Y.S.; Lee, H.; Yuan, J.M.; Koh, W.P.; Rhee, S.Y.; Woo, J.T.; Heid, I.M.; Stark, K.J.; Zimmermann, M.E.; Völzke, H.; Homuth, G.; Evans, M.K.; Zonderman, A.B.; Polasek, O.; Pasterkamp, G.; Hoefer, I.E.; Redline, S.; Pahkala, K.; Oldehinkel, A.J.; Snieder, H.; Biino, G.; Schmidt, R.; Schmidt, H.; Bandinelli, S.; Dedoussis, G.; Thanaraj, T.A.; Kardia, S.L.R.; Peyser, P.A.; Kato, N.; Schulze, M.B.; Girotto, G.; Böger, C.A.; Jung, B.; Joshi, P.K.; Bennett, D.A.; de Jager, P.L.; Lu, X.; Mamakou, V.; Brown, M.; Caulfield, M.J.; Munroe, P.B.; Guo, X.; Ciullo, M.; Jonas, J.B.; Samani, N.J.; Kaprio, J.; Pajukanta, P.; Tusié-Luna, T.; Aguilar-Salinas, C.A.; Adair, L.S.; Bechayda, S.A.; de Silva, H.J.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Krauss, R.M.; Wu, J.Y.; Zheng, W.; Hollander, A.I.; Bharadwaj, D.; Correa, A.; Wilson, J.G.; Lind, L.; Heng, C.K.; Nelson, A.E.; Golightly, Y.M.; Wilson, J.F.; Penninx, B.; Kim, H.L.; Attia, J.; Scott, R.J.; Rao, D.C.; Arnett, D.K.; Hunt, S.C.; Walker, M.; Koistinen, H.A.; Chandak, G.R.; Mercader, J.M.; Costanzo, M.C.; Jang, D.; Burtt, N.P.; Villalpando, C.G.; Orozco, L.; Fornage, M.; Tai, E.; van Dam, R.M.; Lehtimäki, T.; Chaturvedi, N.; Yokota, M.; Liu, J.; Reilly, D.F.; McKnight, A.J.; Kee, F.; Jöckel, K.H.; McCarthy, M.I.; Palmer, C.N.A.; Vitart, V.; Hayward, C.; Simonsick, E.; van Duijn, C.M.; Jin, Z.B.; Qu, J.; Hishigaki, H.; Lin, X.; März, W.; Gudnason, V.; Tardif, J.C.; Lettre, G.; Hart, L.M.; Elders, P.J.M.; Damrauer, S.M.; Kumari, M.; Kivimaki, M.; van der Harst, P.; Spector, T.D.; Loos, R.J.F.; Province, M.A.; Parra, E.J.; Cruz, M.; Psaty, B.M.; Brandslund, I.; Pramstaller, P.P.; Rotimi, C.N.; Christensen, K.; Ripatti, S.; Widén, E.; Hakonarson, H.; Grant, S.F.A.; Kiemeney, L.A.L.M.; de Graaf, J.; Loeffler, M.; Kronenberg, F.; Gu, D.; Erdmann, J.; Schunkert, H.; Franks, P.W.; Linneberg, A.; Jukema, J.W.; Khera, A.V.; Männikkö, M.; Jarvelin, M.R.; Kutalik, Z.; Francesco, C.; Mook-Kanamori, D.O.; van Dijk, K.W.; Watkins, H.; Strachan, D.P.; Grarup, N.; Sever, P.; Poulter, N.; Chuang, L.M.; Rotter, J.I.; Dantoft, T.M.; Karpe, F.; Neville, M.J.; Timpson, N.J.; Cheng, C.Y.; Wong, T.Y.; Khor, C.C.; Li, H.; Sabanayagam, C.; Sabanayagam, C.; Peters, A.; Gieger, C.; Hattersley, A.T.; Pedersen, N.L.; Magnusson, P.K.E.; Boomsma, D.I.; Willemsen, A.H.M.; Cupples, L.; van Meurs, J.B.J.; Ghanbari, M.; Gordon-Larsen, P.; Huang, W.; Kim, Y.J.; Tabara, Y.; Wareham, N.J.; Langenberg, C.; Zeggini, E.; Kuusisto, J.; Laakso, M.; Ingelsson, E.; Abecasis, G.; Chambers, J.C.; Kooner, J.S.; de Vries, P.S.; Morrison, A.C.; Hazelhurst, S.; Ramsay, M.; North, K.E.; Daviglus, M.; Kraft, P.; Martin, N.G.; Whitfield, J.B.; Abbas, S.; Saleheen, D.; Walters, R.G.; Holmes, M.V.; Black, C.; Smith, B.H.; Baras, A.; Justice, A.E.; Buring, J.E.; Ridker, P.M.; Chasman, D.I.; Kooperberg, C.; Tamiya, G.; Yamamoto, M.; van Heel, D.A.; Trembath, R.C.; Wei, W.Q.; Jarvik, G.P.; Namjou, B.; Hayes, M.G.; Ritchie, M.D.; Jousilahti, P.; Salomaa, V.; Hveem, K.; Åsvold, B.O.; Kubo, M.; Kamatani, Y.; Okada, Y.; Murakami, Y.; Kim, B.J.; Thorsteinsdottir, U.; Stefansson, K.; Zhang, J.; Chen, Y.; Ho, Y.L.; Lynch, J.A.; Rader, D.J.; Tsao, P.S.; Chang, K.M.; Cho, K.; O'Donnell, C.J.; Gaziano, J.M.; Wilson P.W.F.; Frayling, T.M.; Hirschhorn, J.N.; Kathiresan, S.; Mohlke, K.L.; Sun, Y.V.; Morris, A.P.; Boehnke, M.; Brown, C.D.; Natarajan, P.; Deloukas, P.; Willer, C.J.; Assimes, T.L.; Peloso, G.M.BACKGROUND: Genetic variants within nearly 1000 loci are known to contribute to modulation of blood lipid levels. However, the biological pathways underlying these associations are frequently unknown, limiting understanding of these findings and hindering downstream translational efforts such as drug target discovery. RESULTS: To expand our understanding of the underlying biological pathways and mechanisms controlling blood lipid levels, we leverage a large multi-ancestry meta-analysis (N = 1,654,960) of blood lipids to prioritize putative causal genes for 2286 lipid associations using six gene prediction approaches. Using phenome-wide association (PheWAS) scans, we identify relationships of genetically predicted lipid levels to other diseases and conditions. We confirm known pleiotropic associations with cardiovascular phenotypes and determine novel associations, notably with cholelithiasis risk. We perform sex-stratified GWAS meta-analysis of lipid levels and show that 3-5% of autosomal lipid-associated loci demonstrate sex-biased effects. Finally, we report 21 novel lipid loci identified on the X chromosome. Many of the sex-biased autosomal and X chromosome lipid loci show pleiotropic associations with sex hormones, emphasizing the role of hormone regulation in lipid metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings provide insights into the biological mechanisms through which associated variants lead to altered lipid levels and potentially cardiovascular disease risk.Item Prevalence of asthma and its symptoms in Sri Lankan adults.(BioMed Central, London, 2022) Gunasekera, K.D.; Amarasiri, W.A.D.L.; Undugodage, U.C.M.; Silva, H.K.M.S.; Sadikeen, A.; Gunasinghe, W.; Fernando, A.; Perera, B.P.R.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.BACKGROUND: Data on adult asthma is scarce in Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of asthma and its symptoms in adult Sri Lankans. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a translated version of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey screening questionnaire on subjects ≥ 18 years from 7 provinces in Sri Lanka was conducted. The asthma was defined as "wheezing in the past 12 months (current wheeze)", self-reported asthma attack in the past 12 months or on current asthma medication use. RESULTS: Among 1872 subjects (45.1% males, 48.8% between 18-44 years of age), the prevalence of current wheeze was 23.9% (95%CI: 22.0%-25.9%), self-reported asthma was 11.8% (95%CI: 10.3%-13.2%) and current asthma medication use was 11.1% (95% CI: 9.6%-12.5%). The prevalences were higher in adults > 44 years, 31.4% positively responded to any of the above questions (95%CI: 29.3%-33.4%) and 60.9% of current wheezers did not report having asthma whilst 38.2% used asthma medication. Among current wheezers, 80.1% had at least one other symptom, cough being the commonest. Those with no current wheeze, self-reported asthma and on current asthma medication use, 30%, 35.9% and 36.6%, respectively, reported at least one other symptom. Smokers comprises 22% current wheezers, 20.6% of self-reported asthmatics and 18.7% of current asthma medication users. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of asthma in Sri Lankan adults is higher than the other South Asian countries and higher in the older age group. A significant percentage of symptomatic individuals did not report having asthma or being on medication.Item A saturated map of common genetic variants associated with human height(Nature Publishing Group, 2022) Vedantam, S.; Marouli, E.; Sidorenko, J.; Bartell, E.; Sakaue, S.; Graff, M.; Eliasen, A.U.; Jiang, Y.; Raghavan, S.; Miao, J.; Arias, J.D.; Graham, S.E.; Mukamel, R.E.; Spracklen, C.N.; Yin, X.; Chen, S.H.; Ferreira, T.; Highland, H.H.; Ji, Y.; Karaderi. T,; Lin, K.; Lüll, K.; Malden, D.E.; Medina-Gomez, C.; Machado, M.; Moore, A.; Rüeger, S.; Sim. X,; Vrieze, S.; Ahluwalia, T.S.; Akiyama, M.; Allison, M.A.; Alvarez, M.; Andersen, M.K.; Ani, A.; Appadurai, V.; Arbeeva, L.; Bhaskar, S.; Bielak, L.F.; Bollepalli, S.; Bonnycastle, L.L.; Bork-Jensen, J.; Bradfield, J.P.; Bradford, Y.; Braund, P.S.; Brody, J.A.; Burgdorf, K.S.; Cade, B.E.; Cai, H.; Cai, Q.; Campbell, A.; Cañadas-Garre, M.; Catamo, E.; Chai, J.F.; Chai, X.; Chang, L.C.; Chen, C.H.; Chesi, A.; Choi, S.H.; Chung, R.H.; Cocca, M.; Concas, M.P.; Couture, C.; Cuellar-Partida, G.; Danning, R.; Daw, E.W.; Degenhard, F.; Delgado, G.E.; Delitala, A.; Demirkan, A.; Deng, X.; Devineni, P.; Dietl, A.; Dimitriou, M.; Dimitrov, L.; Dorajoo, R.; Ekici, A.B.; Engmann, J.E.; Fairhurst-Hunter, Z.; Farmaki, A.E.; Faul, J.D.; Fernandez-Lopez, J.C.; Forer, L.; Francescatto, M.; Freitag-Wolf, S.; Fuchsberger, C.; Galesloot, T.E.; Gao, Y.; Gao, Z.; Geller, F.; Giannakopoulou, O.; Giulianini,F.; Gjesing, A.P.; Goel, A.; Gordon, S.D.; Gorski, M.; Grove, J.; Guo, X.; Gustafsson, S.; Haessler, J.; Hansen, T.F.; Havulinna, A.S.; Haworth, S.J.; He, J.; Heard-Costa, N.; Hebbar, P.; Hindy, G.; Ho, Y.A.; Hofer, E.; Holliday, E.; Horn, K.; Hornsby, W.E.; Hottenga, J.J.; Huang, H.; Huang, J.; Huerta-Chagoya, A.; Huffman, J.E.; Hung, Y.J.; Huo, S.; Hwang, M.Y.; Ha, H.; Ikeda, D.D.; Isono, M.; Jackson, A.U.; Jäger, S.; Jansen, I.E.; Johansson, I.; Jonas, J.B.; Jonsson, A.; Jørgensen, T.; Kalafati, I.P.; Kanai, M.; Kanoni, S.; Kårhus, L.L.; Kasturiratne, A.; Katsuya, T.; Kawaguchi, T.; Kember, R.L.; Kentistou, K.A.; Kim, H.N.; Kim, Y.J.; Kleber, M.E.; Knol, M.J.; Kurbasic, A.; Lauzon, M.; Le, P.; Lea, R.; Lee, J.Y.; Leonard, H.L.; Li, S.A.; Li, X.; Li, X.; Liang, J.; Lin, H.; Lin, S.Y.; Liu, J.; Liu, X.; Lo, K.S.; Long, J.; Lores-Motta, L.; Luan, J.; Lyssenko, V.; Lyytikäinen, L.P.; Mahajan, A.; Mamakou, V.; Mangino, M.; Manichaikul, A.; Marten, J.,; Mattheisen, M.; Mavarani, L.; McDaid, A.F.; Meidtner, K.; Melendez, T.L.; Mercader, J.M.; Milaneschi, Y.; Miller, J.E.; Millwood, I.Y.; Mishra, P.P.; Mitchell, R.E.; Møllehave, L.T.; Morgan, A.; Mucha, S.; Munz, M.; Nakatochi, M.; Nelson, C.P.; Nethander, M.; Nho, C.W.; Nielsen, A.A.; Nolte, I.M.; Nongmaithem, S.S.; Noordam, R.; Ntalla, I.; Nutile, T.; Pandit, A.; Christofidou, P.; Pärna, K.; Pauper, M.; Petersen, E.R.B.; Petersen, L.V.; Pitkänen, N.; Polašek, O.; Poveda, A.; Preuss, M.H.; Pyarajan, S.; Raffield, L.M.; Rakugi, H.; Ramirez, J.; Rasheed, A.; Raven, D.; Rayner, N.W.; Riveros, C.; Rohde, R.; Ruggiero, D.; Ruotsalainen, S.E.; Ryan, K.A.; Sabater-Lleal, M.; Saxena, R.; Scholz, M.; Sendamarai, A.; Shen, B.; Shi, J.; Shin, J.H.; Sidore, C.; Sitlani, C.M.; Slieker, R.C.; Smit, R.A.J.; Smith, A.V.; Smith, J.A.; Smyth, L.J.; Southam, L.; Steinthorsdottir, V.; Sun, L.; Takeuchi, F.; Tallapragada, D.S.P.; Taylor, K.D.; Tayo, B.O.; Tcheandjieu, C.; Terzikhan, N.; Tesolin, P.; Teumer, A.; Theusch, E.; Thompson, D.J.; Thorleifsson, G.; Timmers, P.R.H.J.; Trompet, S.; Turman, C.; Vaccargiu, S.; van der Laan, S.W.; van der Most, P.J.; van Klinken, J.B.; van Setten, J.; Verma, S.S.; Verweij, N.; Veturi, Y.; Wang, C.A.; Wang, C.; Wang, L.; Wang, Z.; Warren, H.R.; Bin Wei, W.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Wielscher, M.; Wiggins, K.L.; Winsvold, B.S.; Wong, A.; Wu, Y.; Wuttke, M.; Xia, R.; Xie, T.; Yamamoto, K.; Yang, J.; Yao, J.; Young, H.; Yousri, N.A.; Yu, L.; Zeng, L.; Zhang, W.; Zhang, X.; Zhao, J.H.; Zhao. W.; Zhou, W.; Zimmermann, M.E.; Zoledziewska, M.; Adair, L.S.; Adams, H.H.H.; Aguilar-Salinas, C.A.; Al-Mulla, F.; Arnett, D.K.; Arnett, D.K.; Asselbergs, F.W.; Åsvold, B.O.; Attia, J.; Banas, B.; Bandinelli, S.; Bennett D.A.; Bergler, T.; Bharadwaj, D.; Biino, G.; Bisgaard, H.; Boerwinkle, E.; Böger, C.A.; Bønnelykke, K.; Boomsma, D.I.; Børglum, A.D.; Borja, J.B.; Bouchard, C.; Bowden, D.W.; Brandslund, I.; Brumpton, B.; Buring, J.E.; Caulfield, M.J.; Chambers, J.C.; Chandak, G.R.; Chanock, S.J.; Chaturvedi, N.; Chen, Y.I.; Chen, Z.; Cheng, C.Y.; Christophersen, I.E.; Ciullo, M.; Cole, J.W.; Collins, F.S.; Cooper, R.S.; Cruz, M.; Cucca, F.; Cupples, L.A.; Cutler, M.J.; Damrauer, S.M.; Dantoft, T.M.; de Borst, G.J.; de Groot, L.C.P.G.M.; de Jager, P.L.; de Kleijn, D.P.V.; de Silva, H.J.; Dedoussis, G.V.; den Hollander, A.I.; Du, S.; Easton, D.F.; Elders, P.J.M.; Eliassen, A.H.; Ellinor, P.T.; Elmståhl, S.; Erdmann, J.; Evans, M.K.; Fatkin, D.; Feenstra, B.; Feitosa, M.F.; Ferrucci, L.; Ford, I.; Fornage, M.; Franke, A.; Franks, P.W.; Freedman, B.I.; Gasparini, P.; Gieger, C.; Girotto, G.; Goddard, M.E.; Golightly, Y.M.; Gonzalez-Villalpando. C.; Gordon-Larsen, P.; Grallert, H.; Grant, S.F.A.; Grarup, N.; Griffiths, L.; Gudnason, V.; Haiman, C.; Hakonarson, H.; Hansen, T.; Hartman, C.A.; Hattersley, A.T.; Hayward, C.; Heckbert, S.R.; Heng, C.K.; Hengstenberg, C.; Hewitt, A.W.; Hishigaki, H.; Hoyng, C.B.; Huang, P.L.; Huang, W.; Hunt, S.C.; Hveem, K.; Hyppönen, E.; Iacono, W.G.; Ichihara, S.; Ikram, M.A.; Isasi, C.R.; Jackson, R.D.; Jarvelin, M.R.; Jin, Z.B.; Jöckel, K.H.; Joshi, P.K.; Jousilahti, P.; Jukema, J.W.; Kähönen, M.; Kamatani, Y.; Kang, K.D.; Kaprio, J.; Kardia, S.L.R.; Karpe, F.; Kato, N.; Kee, F.; Kessler, T.; Khera, A.V.; Khor, C.C.; Kiemeney, L.A.L.M.; Kim, B.J.; Kim, E.K.; Kim, H.L.; Kirchhof, P.; Kivimaki, M.; Koh, W.P.; Koistinen, H.A.; Kolovou, G.D.; Kooner, J.S.; Kooperberg, C.; Köttgen, A.; Kovacs, P.; Kraaijeveld, A.; Kraft, P.; Krauss, R.M.; Kumari, M.; Kutalik, Z.; Laakso, M.; Lange, L.A.; Langenberg, C.; Launer, L.J.; Le Marchand, L.; Lee, H.; Lee, N.R.; Lehtimäki, T.; Li, H.; Li, L.; Lieb, W.; Lin, X.; Lind, L.; Linneberg, A.; Liu, C.T.; Liu, J.; Loeffler, M.; London, B.; Lubitz, S.A.; Lye, S.J.; Mackey, D.A.; Mägi, R.; Magnusson, P.K.E.; Marcus, G.M.; Vidal, P.M.; Martin, N.G.; Martin, N.G.; Lieb, W.; Lin, X.; Lind, L.; Linneberg, A.; Liu, C.T.; Liu, J.; Loeffler, M.; London, B.; Lubitz, S.A.; Lye, S.J.; Mackey, D.A.; Mägi, R.; Mägi, R.; Magnusson, P.K.E.; Marcus, G.M.; Vidal, P.M.; Martin, N.G.; März, W.; Matsuda, F.; McGarrah, R.W.; McGue, M.; McKnight, A.J.; Medland, S.E.; Mellström, D.; Metspalu, A.; Mitchell, B.D.; Mitchell, P.; Mook-Kanamori, D.O.; Morris, A.D.; Mucci, L.A.; Munroe, P.B.; Nalls, M.A.; Nazarian, S.; Nelson, A.E.; Neville, M.J.; Newton-Cheh, C.; Nielsen, C.S.; Nöthen, M.M.; Ohlsson, C.; Oldehinkel, A.J.; Oldehinkel, A.J.; Orozco, L.; Pahkala, K.; Pajukanta, P.; Palmer, C.N.A.; Parra, E.J.; Pattaro, C.; Pedersen, O.; Pennell, C.E.; Penninx, B.W.J.H.; Perusse, L.; Peters, A.; Peyser, P.A.; Porteous, D.J.; Posthuma, D.; Power, C.; Pramstaller, P.P.; Province, M.A.; Qi, Q.; Qu, J.; Rader, D.J.; Raitakari, O.T.; Ralhan, S.; Rallidis, L.S.; Rao, D.C.; Redline, S.; Reilly, D.F.; Reiner, A.P.; Rhee, S.Y.; Ridker, P.M.; Rienstra, M.; Ripatti, S.; Ritchie, M.D.; Roden, D.M.; Rosendaal, F.R.; Rotter, J.I.; Rudan, I.; Rutters, F.; Sabanayagam, C.; Saleheen, D.; Salomaa, V.; Samani, N.J.; Sanghera, D.K.; Sattar, N.; Schmidt, B.; Schmidt, H.; Schmidt, R.; Schulze, M.B.; Schunkert, H.; Scott, L.J.; Scott, R.J.; Sever, P.; Shiroma, E.J.; Shoemaker, M.B.; Shu, X.O.; Simonsick, E.M.; Sims, M.; Singh, J.R.; Singleton, A.B.; Sinner, M.F.; Smith, J.G.; Snieder, H.; Spector, T.D.; Stampfer, M.J.; Stark, K.J.; Strachan, D.P.; 't Hart, L.M.; Tabara, Y.; Tang, H.; Tardif, J.C.; Thanaraj, T.A.; Timpson, N.J.; Tönjes, A.; Tremblay, A.; Tuomi, T.; Tuomilehto, J.; Tusié-Luna, M.T.; Uitterlinden, A.G.; van Dam, R.M.; van der Harst, P.; Van der Velde, N.; van Duijn, C.M.; van Schoor, N.M.; Vitart, V.; Völker, U.; Vollenweider, P.; Völzke, H.; Wacher-Rodarte, N.H.; Walker, M.; Wang, Y.X.; Wareham, N.J.; Watanabe, R.M.; Watkins, H.; Weir, D.R.; Werge, T.M.; Widen, E.; Wilkens, L.R.; Willemsen, G.; Willett, W.C.; Wilson, J.F.; Wong, T.Y.; Woo, J.T.; Wright, A.F.; Wu, J.Y.; Xu, H.; Yajnik, C.S.; Yokota, M.; Yuan, J.M.; Zeggini, E.; Zemel, B.S.; Zheng, W.; Zhu, X.; Zmuda, J.M.; Zonderman, A.B.; Zwart, J.A.; 23andMe Research Team; VA Million Veteran Program.; DiscovEHR (DiscovEHR and MyCode Community Health Initiative).; eMERGE (Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network).; Lifelines Cohort Study.; PRACTICAL Consortium.; Understanding Society Scientific Group.; Chasman, D.I.; Cho, Y.S.; Heid, I.M.; McCarthy, M.I.; Ng, M.C.Y.; O'Donnell, C.J.; Rivadeneira, F.; Thorsteinsdottir, U.; Sun, Y.V.; Tai, E.S.; Boehnke, M.; Deloukas, P.; Justice, A.E.; Lindgren, C.M.; Loos, R.J.F.; Mohlke, K.L.; North, K.E.; Stefansson, K.; Walters R.G.v.; Winkler, T.W.; Young, K.L.; Loh, P.R.; Yang, J.; Esko, T.; Assimes, T.L.; Auton, A.; Abecasis, G.R.; Willer, C.J.; Locke, A.E.; Berndt, S.I.; Lettre, G.; Frayling, T.M.; Frayling, T.M.; Okada, Y.; Wood, A.R.; Visscher, P.M.; Hirschhorn, J.N.Common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are predicted to collectively explain 40-50% of phenotypic variation in human height, but identifying the specific variants and associated regions requires huge sample sizes1. Here, using data from a genome-wide association study of 5.4 million individuals of diverse ancestries, we show that 12,111 independent SNPs that are significantly associated with height account for nearly all of the common SNP-based heritability. These SNPs are clustered within 7,209 non-overlapping genomic segments with a mean size of around 90 kb, covering about 21% of the genome. The density of independent associations varies across the genome and the regions of increased density are enriched for biologically relevant genes. In out-of-sample estimation and prediction, the 12,111 SNPs (or all SNPs in the HapMap 3 panel2) account for 40% (45%) of phenotypic variance in populations of European ancestry but only around 10-20% (14-24%) in populations of other ancestries. Effect sizes, associated regions and gene prioritization are similar across ancestries, indicating that reduced prediction accuracy is likely to be explained by linkage disequilibrium and differences in allele frequency within associated regions. Finally, we show that the relevant biological pathways are detectable with smaller sample sizes than are needed to implicate causal genes and variants. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive map of specific genomic regions that contain the vast majority of common height-associated variants. Although this map is saturated for populations of European ancestry, further research is needed to achieve equivalent saturation in other ancestries.Item Alcohol use and alcoholic fatty liver disease: a prospective, communitybased study among adults in an urban community in Sri Lanka(The Sri Lanka Medical Association, 2022) Niriella, M.A.; Kasturiratne, A.; Beddage, T.; de Silva, S.T.; Dassanayake, A.S.; Pathmeswaran, A.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Kato, N.; de Silva, H.J.Background: Data on alcoholic fatty liver (AFL) is limited. Therefore, we investigated alcohol use and AFL in a cohort of adults in an urban community in Sri Lanka. Methods: The study population (selected by age-stratified random sampling) was screened in 2007 (35-64 years) and re-evaluated in 2014. They were assessed by structured interviews, anthropometric measurements, liver-ultrasound, and biochemical and serological tests. AFL was diagnosed on ultrasound criteria, ‘unsafe’ alcohol consumption (Asian standards: males>14 units, females >7 units per week) and absence of hepatitis B/C markers. Controls were unsafe alcohol consumers who had no fatty liver on ultrasound. Results: 2985/3012 (99%) had complete data for analysis. 272/2985 (9.1%) were unsafe-drinkers in 2007 [males-270; mean-age-51.9, SD-8.0 years]. 86/272 (31.6%) had AFL [males-85; mean-age-50.2, SD-8.6 years]. Male gender [p<0.001], increased waist circumference (WC) [OR 4.9, p<0.01], BMI>23kg/m2 [OR 3.5, p<0.01] and raised alanine aminotransferase (ALT) [OR 2.8, p<0.01] were independently associated with AFL. 173/272 (63.6%) unsafe alcohol consumers from 2007 were re-evaluated in 2014. 134/173 had either had AFL or had changed to ‘safe’ or no alcohol consumption. 21/39 (53.8%) [males-21 (100%), meanage- 57.9, SD-7.9 years] who remained ‘unsafe’ alcohol users who had no fatty liver in 2007 developed AFL after 7-years (annual incidence 7.7%). On bivariate analysis, only male gender was associated with new-onset AFL. Of the 42 who had AFL at baseline but changed their drinking status from unsafe to safe or no alcohol, 6 had resolution of fatty liver in 2014. Conclusion: In this community-based study among adults from an urban community, unsafe alcohol use was found in 9.1%. Among unsafe alcohol users, the prevalence of AFL was 31.6% and the annual incidence of AFL was 7.7%. New-onset AFL was independently associated with male gender.Item The iHealth-T2D study: a cluster randomised trial for the prevention of type 2 diabetes amongst South Asians with central obesity and prediabetes-a statistical analysis plan(BioMed Central, London, 2022) Muilwijk, M.; Loh, M.; Mahmood, S.; Palaniswamy, S.; Siddiqui, S.; Silva, W.; Frost, G.S.; Gage, H.M.; Jarvelin, M.R.; Rannan-Eliya, R.P.; Ahmad, S.; Jha, S.; Kasturiratne, A.; Katulanda, P.; Khawaja, K.I.; Kooner, J.S.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; van Valkengoed, I.G.M.; Chambers, J.C.Background: South Asians are at high risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Lifestyle modification is effective at preventing T2D amongst South Asians, but the approaches to screening and intervention are limited by high costs, poor scalability and thus low impact on T2D burden. An intensive family-based lifestyle modification programme for the prevention of T2D was developed. The aim of the iHealth-T2D trial is to compare the effectiveness of this programme with usual care. Methods: The iHealth-T2D trial is designed as a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) conducted at 120 sites across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the UK. A total of 3682 South Asian men and women with age between 40 and 70 years without T2D but at elevated risk for T2D [defined by central obesity (waist circumference ≥ 95 cm in Sri Lanka or ≥ 100 cm in India, Pakistan and the UK) and/or prediabetes (HbA1c ≥ 6.0%)] were included in the trial. Here, we describe in detail the statistical analysis plan (SAP), which was finalised before outcomes were available to the investigators. The primary outcome will be evaluated after 3 years of follow-up after enrolment to the study and is defined as T2D incidence in the intervention arm compared to usual care. Secondary outcomes are evaluated both after 1 and 3 years of follow-up and include biochemical measurements, anthropometric measurements, behavioural components and treatment compliance. Discussion: The iHealth-T2D trial will provide evidence of whether an intensive family-based lifestyle modification programme for South Asians who are at high risk for T2D is effective in the prevention of T2D. The data from the trial will be analysed according to this pre-specified SAP. Ethics and dissemination: The trial was approved by the international review board of each participating study site. Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and in conference presentations.Item Composite carotid intima-media thickness as a risk predictor of coronary heart disease in a selected population in Sri Lanka(Public Library of Science,, 2022) Abeysuriya, V.; Wijesinha, N.A.I.; Priyadharshan, P.P.; Chandrasena, L.G.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.Background: Segment-specific variations of carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) have not been assessed in South Asian populations. The purpose of this study was to determine if segment-specific CIMTs or a composite-CIMT score is a better risk predictor of coronary heart disease in South Asian populations. Methods: A comparative prospective study was conducted from November 2019 to October 2020 in a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Based on pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, cases (having a diagnosis of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), n = 338) and controls (non-CHD group, n = 356) were recruited. Ultrasound examination of the common carotid (CCA), the carotid bulb (CB) and the internal carotid segments (ICA) of the carotid vessels was conducted by a radiologist, and CIMTs were measured. A composite-CIMT score defined as the average value of all six segments of the left and right sides was derived. Results: 694 participants were enrolled (male n = 399, 57.5%). The mean (±SD) age of the study sample was 60.2 (±9.86) years. There were variations in segment-specific values between the left and right vessels. The mean composite-CIMT value of the CHD group was significantly higher than that of the non-CHD group. A composite-CIMT score of 0.758 had a sensitivity of 98.4% and a specificity of 64.6% in distinguishing CHD from non-CHD groups (Area under the curve (AUC): 0.926). Conclusions: Carotid artery segment-specific CIMT variations were present in this population. The composite CIMT score is better than segment-specific CIMTs in predicting CHD and may be used to predict CHD in this population.Item Measuring mental well-being in Sri Lanka: validation of the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) in a Sinhala speaking community(BioMed Central, London, 2022) Perera, B.P.R.; Caldera, A.; Godamunne, P.; Stewart-Brown, S.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Jayasuriya, R.Background: Well-being is an important aspect of people's lives and can be considered as an index of social progress. The Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (WEMWBS) was developed to capture subjective mental well-being. It is a widely tested measure of mental well-being at the population level and has 14 items and a short-form with 7 items. This study was carried out to culturally validate and adapt the WEMWBS among a Sinhala speaking population in Sri Lanka. Methods: A forward and backward translation of the scale into Sinhala was done followed by a cognitive interview. The translated and culturally adapted scale and other mental health scales were administered to a sample of 294 persons between the ages of 17-73 using a paper-based version (n = 210) and an online survey (n = 84). Internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability were tested. Construct validity, and convergent and discriminant validity were assessed using the total sample. Results: The translated questionnaire had good face and content validity. Internal consistency reliability was 0.91 and 0.84 for the 14-item and 7-item scales, respectively. Test-retest reliability over two weeks was satisfactory (Spearman r = 0.72 p < 0.001). Confirmatory factor analysis supported a one factor model. Convergent validity was assessed using WHO-5 well-being index (Spearman r = 0.67, p < 0.001), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) (Spearman r = (-0.45), p < 0.001) and Kessler psychological distress scale (K10) (Spearman r = (-0.55), p < 0.001). Conclusions: The translated and culturally adapted Sinhala version of the WEMWBS has acceptable psychometric properties to assess mental well-being at the population level among the Sinhala speaking population in Sri Lanka.Item Regional and demographic variations of Carotid Artery Intima and Media Thickness (CIMT): A Systematic review and meta-analysis(Public Library of Science, 2022) Abeysuriya, V.; Perera, B.P.R.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.Background and objective: Carotid artery intima media thickness (CIMT) is a strong predictor of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) and independent phenotype of early atherosclerosis. The global variation of CIMT and its demographic association is yet unclear. We evaluated regional variations of CIMT based on WHO regions and assessed the differences by age and sex. Methods: A systematic search was conducted on studies published between 1980 January up to December 2020. PubMed, Oxford Medicine Online, EBSCO, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press and Embase data bases were used for searching. Supplementary searches were conducted on the Web of Science and Google Scholar. Grey literature was searched in "Open Grey" website. The two major criteria used were "adults" and "carotid intima media". The search strategy for PubMed was created first and then adapted for the Oxford Medicine Online, EBSCO, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press and Embase databases. Covidence software (Veritas Health Innovation, Melbourne, Australia; http://www.covidence.org) was used to manage the study selection process. Meta-analyses were done using the random-effects model. An I2 ≥ 50% or p< 0:05 were considered to indicate significant heterogeneity. Results: Of 2847 potential articles, 46 eligible articles were included in the review contributing data for 49 381 individuals (mean age: 55.6 years, male: 55.8%). The pooled mean CIMT for the non-CHD group was 0.65mm (95%CI: 0.62-0.69). There was a significant difference in the mean CIMT between regions (p = 0.04). Countries in the African (0.72mm), American (0.71mm) and European (0.71mm) regions had a higher pooled mean CIMT compared to those in the South East Asian (0.62mm), West Pacific (0.60mm) and Eastern Mediterranean (0.60mm) regions. Males had a higher pooled mean CIMT of 0.06mm than females in the non CHD group (p = 0.001); there were also regional differences. The CHD group had a significantly higher mean CIMT than the non-CHD group (difference = 0.23mm, p = 0.001) with regional variations. Carotid artery segment-specific-CIMT variations are present in this population. Older persons and those having CHD group had significantly thicker CIMTs. Conclusions: CIMT varies according to region, age, sex and whether a person having CHD. There are significant regional differences of mean CIMT between CHD and non-CHD groups. Segment specific CIMT variations exist among regions. There is an association between CHD and CIMT values.Item Comparison of urban diabetics with optimal and suboptimal control(British Medical Association, London, 2011) Pinidiyapathirage, M.; Warnakulasuriya, T.; Kasturiratne, A.; Ranawaka, U.; Gunasekera, D.; Wijekoon, N.; Medagoda, K.; Perera, S.; Takeuchi, F.; Kato, N.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.Introduction The prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus in Sri Lanka is increasing. We describe the characteristics of patients with optimal and suboptimal control of diabetes among known diabetics in a 35–64-year-old urban population resident in the Ragama Medical Officer of Health (Ragama MOH) area of Sri Lanka. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted among 2986 randomly selected 35–64 year olds in the Ragama MOH area from January to September 2007. A detailed history was taken and participants were subjected to a physical examination and assay of fasting blood glucose and HbA1C. A HBA1C <6.5 was taken as evidence of optimal control. Results There were 474 persons (194 males and 280 females) who gave a past history of diabetes. 9 males and 9 females were not on any treatment. 27 persons (9 males and 18 females) were on insulin. Of the 474 diabetics, 113 (48 males and 65 females) had a HbA1c <6.5. The average fasting blood glucose of diabetics with optimal control was 120+21 mg/dl. The mean fasting blood glucose level of the 361 subjects with sub optimal control was 190+70 mg/dl. Optimal glycaemic control was not associated with alcohol intake, smoking, obesity, central obesity and low physical activity levels. Conclusions Most known diabetics had access to treatment but only approximately 25% were optimally treated. The need to optimally manage these patients is highlighted.