Genetic analyses of cardiometabolic diseases and traits in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

Diseases of the heart (e.g. heart attack) and metabolism (e.g. type 2 diabetes) are very frequent in the aging Canadian population. These disorders are affected by both environmental (e.g. nutrition, physical activity) and genetic factors. The goal of this project is to identify genetic variation that influences Canadians’ risk to develop cardiometabolic diseases. In this project, we propose to use the wealth of phenotypic and genetic information available in the CLSA to carry out genome-wide association studies for cardiometabolic diseases and their clinical risk factors (e.g. weight, blood cell counts). Such genetic discoveries may improve risk prediction and disease prevention, but also guide the development of new therapies.