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Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of food allergy and IgE-sensitization

Item Type:Article
Title:Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies of food allergy and IgE-sensitization
Creators Name:Maier, Lisa, Sun, Yidan, Kronberg, Jaanika, Abner, Erik, Coley, Kayesha, Marenholz, Ingo, Weiss, Stefan, Foraita, Ronja, Karramass, Tarik, Mykkänen, Juha, Hernandez-Pacheco, Natalia, Wang, Carol A., Kitaba, Negusse T., Pechlivanis, Sonali, Bouzigon, Emmanuelle, Tingskov Pedersen, Casper E., Schoos, Ann-Marie M., Curtin, John, Kress, Sara, Hernangomez-Laderas, Alba, Foppiano, Francesco, Ashley, Sarah, Batini, Chiara, Bryant, Luke, Homuth, Georg, Gieger, Christian, Gilles, Stefanie, Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka, Rovio, Suvi, Pahkala, Katja, Vernet, Raphaël, Valenta, Rudolph, Llop, Sabrina, Torrent, Maties, Böck, Andreas, Tang, Mimi L.K., Schmidt-Weber, Carsten B., Metspalu, Andres, Esko, Tõnu, Sprikkelman, Aline B., John, Catherine, Lee, Young-Ae, Beyer, Kirsten, Völzke, Henry, Pigeot, Iris, Traidl-Hoffmann, Claudia, Duijts, Liesbeth, Lu, Haojie, Raitakari, Olli T., Lehtimäki, Terho, Kähönen, Mika, Tio, Chris H.L., Melén, Erik, Pennell, Craig E., Holloway, John W., von Mutius, Erika, Siroux, Valérie, Bønnelykke, Klaus, Custovic, Adnan, Simpson, Angela, Schikowski, Tamara, Bilbao, Jose Ramon, Schaub, Bianca, Peters, Rachel, Kersten, Elin T.G., Vonk, Judith M., Thiering, Elisabeth, Peters, Annette, Koppelman, Gerard H. and Standl, Marie
Abstract:BACKGROUND: Food allergies (FA) arise from a complex interplay between an individual's genetic predisposition and environmental factors and their prevalence is increasing. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to date have been hindered by small sample sizes and varying FA definitions. OBJECTIVE: Identify novel food allergy risk loci by conducting a GWAS meta-analysis in children and adults using a multi-phenotype approach to ensure the trade-off between sufficient sample size and valid FA definitions. METHODS: Analyses were conducted separately in children and adults based on the following FA phenotypes: self-report, doctors-diagnosis, food-specific sensitization, and doctors-diagnosis plus food-specific sensitization. GWAS from up to 16 cohorts of European ancestry including 229,426 adults and 14,234 children were meta-analyzed. Models were adjusted for sex, age, principal components, and if applicable, further study-specific confounders. Sensitivity models were additionally adjusted for hay fever. Replication was conducted in additional external cohorts and a validation in oral food challenge-defined FA cases. RESULTS: 37 SNPs met suggestive significance (p-value < 1x10(-6)), with two reaching genome-wide significance: rs116936231 (FGL1) in adult doctors-diagnosed FA plus food-specific sensitization phenotype (stable after additional hay fever adjustment) and rs8022829 (AKAP6-NPAS3) which was significant only in the hay fever-adjusted model in adults. However, neither variant was validated. Further, we identified three SNPs previously reported for FA and atopic diseases. CONCLUSION:: This study identified 37 SNPs suggestively associated with FA and demonstrated genetic differences across phenotypes. It highlights the need for a unified FA definition and sheds light on its shared genetic architecture with allergies.
Keywords:Genome-Wide Association Study, Food Allergy, Meta-Analysis, Specific IgE, Hay Fever, Sensitization, Epidemiology
Source:Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
ISSN:0091-6749
Publisher:Elsevier / American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
Date:20 February 2026
Official Publication:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2026.02.012
PubMed:View item in PubMed

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