Genomics of Reproductive Traits and Cardiometabolic Disease Risk in African American Women.

BACKGROUND: Age at menarche and age at natural menopause occur significantly earlier in African-American women than in other ethnic groups. African-American women also have twice the prevalence of cardiometabolic disorders related to the timing of these reproductive traits.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this integrative review were to (a) summarize the genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of reproductive traits in African-American women; (b) identify genes that overlap with reproductive traits and cardiometabolic risk factors in African-American women; and (c) propose biological mechanisms explaining the link between reproductive traits and cardiometabolic risk factors.

METHODS: PubMed was searched for GWAS of genes associated with reproductive traits in African-American women. After extracting and summarizing the primary genes, we examined whether any of the associations with reproductive traits had also been identified with cardiometabolic risk factors in African-American women.

RESULTS: Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Associations with both reproductive and cardiometabolic traits were reported in or near the following genes: FTO, SEC16B, TMEM18, APOE, PHACTR1, KCNQ1, LDLR, PIK3R1 and RORA. Biological pathways implicated include bodyweight regulation, vascular homeostasis, and lipid metabolism.

DISCUSSION: A better understanding of the genetic basis of reproductive traits in African-American women may provide insight into the biological mechanisms linking variation in these traits with increased risk for cardiometabolic disorders in this population.