title: Genome-wide Association Studies for Osteoporosis: A 2013 Update.
abstract: In the past few years, the bone field has witnessed great advances in genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of osteoporosis, with a number of promising genes identified. In particular, meta-analysis of GWASs, aimed at increasing the power of studies by combining the results from different study populations, have led to the identification of novel associations that would not otherwise have been identified in individual GWASs. Recently, the first whole genome sequencing study for osteoporosis and fractures was published, reporting a novel rare nonsense mutation. This review summarizes the important and representative findings published by December 2013. Comments are made on the notable findings and representative studies for their potential influence and implications on our present understanding of the genetics of osteoporosis. Potential limitations of GWASs and their meta-analyses are evaluated, with an emphasis on understanding the reasons for inconsistent results between different studies and clarification of misinterpretation of GWAS meta-analysis results. Implications and challenges of GWAS are also discussed, including the need for multi- and inter-disciplinary studies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Yong-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA. ; Center of System Biomedical Sciences, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, PR, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri - Kansas City, School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Papasian
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioinformatics and Genomics, Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA. ; Center of System Biomedical Sciences, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, PR, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Deng
keywords: Genome-wide association study; Osteoporosis