The existence of psoriatic arthritis as a distinct clinical entity remains a topic of debate; some authors propose that it is simply the co-occurrence of psoriasis and inflammatory arthritis. However, a distinct entity is likely to have distinct susceptibility factors in addition to those that contribute to psoriasis and inflammatory arthritis alone. These aetiological factors may be genetic an...

1Institute of Medical Biometry and Statistics, University of Lübeck, University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; 2Center for Clinical Trials, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany; 3Genometrics Section, Inherited Disease Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, USA; 4Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toront...

Y.Y. Shugart (ed.), Applied Computational Genomics, Translational Bioinformatics 1, DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-5558-1_2, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012 Abstract The major aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the fi eld of genetic epidemiology and its relevance to the identi fi cation of the causes and risk factors for human diseases. The most important goal of the meth...

Obesity has become a global epidemic and contributes to the increasing burden of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, some types of cancer, and premature death worldwide. Obesity is highly heritable and arises from the interactions of multiple genes, environmental factors, and behavior. In this paper, the authors reviewed recent developments in genetic epidemiologic research, focusi...

Purpose. The genetic etiology of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is still largely unknown, because of its complexity and disparities in its classification. We aimed to determine the genetic contribution to various early, continuous markers of POAG by assessing the heritability of intraocular pressure (IOP), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and neuroretinal rim and optic disc param...

Asthma is an increasingly common disease in the developed world (1-3). In the United States, the second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II) (1976-1980) estimates of asthma prevalence (4) were 6.9 percent for whites and 9.2 percent for blacks. Most current definitions of asthma (5) characterize it as a (rapidly or slowly) reversible narrowing of the conducting airways of...

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem connective tissue disease characterised phenotypically by fibrosis and ischaemic atrophy. Its aetiology is most likely multifactorial. A genetic predisposition to the condition is suggested by reports of familial SSc (a positive family history is the strongest risk factor yet identified), by animal models, and by disease-association studies, in which re...