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Maier, L. ; Sun, Y.* ; Kronberg, J.* ; Abner, E.* ; Coley, K.* ; Marenholz, I.* ; Weiss, S.* ; Foraita, R.* ; Karramass, T.* ; Mykkänen, J.* ; Hernandez-Pacheco, N.* ; Wang, C.A.* ; Kitaba, N.T.* ; Pechlivanis, S. ; Bouzigon, E.* ; Tingskov Pedersen, C.E.* ; Schoos, A.M.* ; Curtin, J.* ; Kress, S.* ; Hernangomez-Laderas, A.* ; Foppiano, F.* ; Ashley, S.* ; Batini, C.* ; Bryant, L.* ; Homuth, G.* ; Gieger, C. ; Gilles, S. ; Lyytikäinen, L.P.* ; Rovio, S.* ; Pahkala, K.* ; Vernet, R.* ; Valenta, R.* ; Llop, S.* ; Torrent, M.* ; Böck, A.* ; Tang, M.L.K.* ; Schmidt-Weber, C.B. ; Metspalu, A.* ; Esko, T.* ; Sprikkelman, A.B.* ; John, C.* ; Lee, Y.A.* ; Beyer, K.* ; Völzke, H.* ; Pigeot, I.* ; Traidl-Hoffmann, C. ; Duijts, L.* ; Lu, H.* ; Raitakari, O.T.* ; Lehtimäki, T.* ; Kähönen, M.* ; Tio, C.H.L.* ; Melén, E.* ; Pennell, C.E.* ; Holloway, J.W.* ; von Mutius, E. ; Siroux, V.* ; Bønnelykke, K.* ; Custovic, A.* ; Simpson, A.* ; Schikowski, T.* ; Bilbao, J.R.* ; Schaub, B.* ; Peters, R.* ; Kersten, E.T.G.* ; Vonk, J.M.* ; Thiering, E. ; Peters, A. ; Koppelman, G.H.* ; Standl, M.

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

J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2026.02.012 (2026)
Postprint DOI PMC
Open Access Green
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.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Epidemiology ; Food Allergy ; Genome-wide Association Study ; Hay Fever ; Meta-analysis ; Sensitization ; Specific Ige
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0091-6749
e-ISSN 1097-6825
Journal The journal of allergy and clinical immunology
Publisher Elsevier
Publishing Place Amsterdam [u.a.]
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Epidemiology (EPI)
Institute of Asthma and Allergy Prevention (IAP)
Institute of Environmental Medicine (IEM)
Institute for Allergy Research (IAF)