title: A genome-wide screen for hyposmia susceptibility Loci.
abstract: Olfactory dysfunction is an important public health problem in the United States, with approximately 14 million elderly Americans having chronic olfactory impairment. We performed a genome-wide linkage scan for loci influencing susceptibility to hyposmia in the Hutterites, a founder population of European ancestry. Using interviews regarding the olfactory medical history and psychophysical smell testing, we identified 25 individuals with severe hyposmia. Elimination of subjects with confounding conditions yielded 7 hyposmics for analysis. A 52-member pedigree including all affected individuals was constructed from the larger, >1623-member pedigree, and a genome-wide screen for loci influencing the trait of hyposmia using 1123 markers was performed. The most significant evidence for linkage with hyposmia extended over a 45 cM region on chromosome 4q (P = 0.0013). Although this signal meets the criteria for suggestive linkage only and will require replication, these results offer the strongest data to date on the effects of genetic variation on olfactory dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Section of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC 1035, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. jpinto@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Jayant M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Sanguansak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thanaviratananich
authors.forename: M Geoffrey
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Naclerio
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ober
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D002894:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 4; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000235:genetics*; D010375:Pedigree; D013023:South Dakota; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People