Life-Course Associations between Blood Pressure-Related Polygenic Risk Scores and Hypertension in the Bogalusa Heart Study

Abstract

Genetic information may help to identify individuals at increased risk for hypertension in early life, prior to the manifestation of elevated blood pressure (BP) values. We examined 369 Black and 832 White Bogalusa Heart Study (BHS) participants recruited in childhood and followed for approximately 37 years. The multi-ancestry genome-wide polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and hypertension were tested for an association with incident hypertension and stage 2 hypertension using Cox proportional hazards models. Race-stratified analyses were adjusted for baseline age, age2, sex, body mass index, genetic principal components, and BP. In Black participants, each standard deviation increase in SBP and DBP PRS conferred a 38% (p = 0.009) and 22% (p = 0.02) increased risk of hypertension and a 74% (p p p p = 0.01), and 25% (p p = 0.08), 29% (0.01), and 42% (p p < 0.05). Multi-ancestry BP PRSs demonstrate the utility of genomic information in the early life prediction of hypertension.

Keywords

• hypertension
• polygenic risk score
• genetic predisposition
• blood pressure
• childhood risk factor
• genetics