142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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297586
Major Genetic Susceptibility Loci and COPD in Agricultural-Exposed Individuals

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Lisa Weissenburger-Moser, MPH , Department of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
William Roughead , University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Kevin Kelly, PhD , University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Ted Mikuls , University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Stephen Rennard , University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Fang Yu , University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Debra Romberger , University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
James Merchant, MD, DrPH , Healthier Workforce Center For Excellence, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Tricia LeVan, PhD , Department of Epidemiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Background and Objective:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the United States. While cigarette smoke exposure contributes to COPD, genetic factors also increase susceptibility. Whole genome sequencing has been used to identify genetic risk factors for COPD. Loci have been identified for COPD on chromosome 4 near the hedgehog interacting protein (HHIP) gene. Hedgehog signaling pathway is important for the lung development and responses to lung injury. We examined the association of HHIP polymorphisms with COPD in an agriculturally-exposed population.

Methods:

This is a nested case-control study where participants were selected based on being 40-87 years of age and having worked on a farm for at least two years. Pre-bronchodilator spirometry was performed and COPD status was determined as FEV1/FVC ratio of ≤ 70% or a chronic cough of two years or more. DNA was genotyped using MALDI/TOF mass spectrometry.

Results:

Participants reported working on a farm for 22.3 ± 20.4 (SD) years, were 56.3% male, had a baseline age of 58.1 ± 9.1 (SD) years, and were either never (71.8%) or former smokers (28.2%). Of the 322 participants, 107 (33.3%) had COPD.  Farmers with the HHIP polymorphism rs13118928/GG (35.1%) had increased prevalence of COPD compared with farmers with the A allele (21.0%; p=0.003). Similarly, farmers with rs1542725/AA (35.7%) had an increased prevalence of COPD compared to farmers with the G allele (20.8%; p=0.0028).

Conclusion:

This is the first study to show the association of COPD with HHIP polymorphisms in an agricultural-exposed population.

Learning Areas:

Occupational health and safety

Learning Objectives:
Discuss respiratory symptoms that are associated with the HHIP gene among agricultural workers.

Keyword(s): Genetics, Environmental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a PhD student and am conducting my PhD research on genetic epidemiology of COPD. I have analyzed the current dataset, which substantiate the conclusions of the abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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