title: Genome-wide association study of smoking behaviours among Bangladeshi adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The high prevalence of tobacco use in some developing nations, including Bangladesh, poses several public health challenges for these populations. Smoking behaviour is determined by genetic and environmental factors; however, the genetic determinants of smoking behaviour have not been previously examined in a Bangladeshi or South Asian population. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of tobacco smoking behaviour among a population-based sample of 5354 (2035 ever smokers and 3319 never smokers) men and women in Bangladesh.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genome-wide association analyses were conducted for smoking initiation (ever vs never smokers), smoking quantity (cigarettes per day), age of smoking initiation, and smoking cessation (former vs current smokers). Sex-stratified associations were performed for smoking initiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed associations for smoking initiation in the SLC39A11 region at 17q21.31 (rs2567519, p=1.33×10⁻⁷) among men and in the SLCO3A1 region at 15q26 (rs12912184, p=9.32×10⁻⁸) among women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest possible underlying mechanisms related to solute carrier transporter genes, which transport neurotransmitters, nutrients, heavy metals and other substrates into cells, for smoking initiation in a South Asian population in a sex-specific pattern. Genetic markers could have potential translational implications for the prevention or treatment of tobacco use and addiction in South Asian populations and warrant further exploration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Studies, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Argos
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Brandon L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rakibuz-Zaman
authors.forename: Alauddin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: Tariqul
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Mahfuzar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Rachelle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paul-Brutus
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rahaman
authors.forename: Shantanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Farzana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jasmine
authors.forename: Muhammad G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kibriya
authors.forename: Habibul
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ahsan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001459:Bangladesh; D005260:Female; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012907:Smoking / Q000235:genetics*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D055815:Young Adult