TY - JOUR T1 - Associations between the 17q21 region and allergic rhinitis in five birth cohorts JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - P4786 AU - Elaine Fuertes AU - Cilla Söderhäll AU - Nathalie Acevedo AU - Allan Becker AU - Michael Brauer AU - Moira Chan-Yeung AU - F. Nicole Dijk AU - Joachim Heinrich AU - Gerard Koppelman AU - Dirkje Postma AU - Juha Kere AU - Anita Kozyrskyj AU - Göran Pershagen AU - Andrew Sandford AU - Marie Standl AU - Carla Tiesler AU - Melanie Waldenberger AU - Marit Westman AU - Christopher Carlsten AU - Erik Melén Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P4786.abstract N2 - Background: The 17q21 locus is among the most implicated genetic risk factors for childhood asthma, and may be a shared risk locus with allergic rhinitis. Previous candidate gene studies on the 17q21 locus and allergic rhinitis are small and conflicting.Objective: In a pooled analysis of five birth cohorts (BAMSE, GINI/LISA, PIAMA, CAPPS and SAGE; Ntotal=4623), we examined whether seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located at 17q21 were associated with allergic rhinitis, and whether this association was modified in those also diagnosed with asthma.Methods: Allergic rhinitis was defined using a questionnaire-based report of doctor diagnosis or symptoms and a concomitant positive test for aeroallergen sensitization at ages four to 16 years (in the pooled data). Generalized estimating equation models, adjusted for age and cohort, assessed longitudinal associations between allergic rhinitis and the SNPs. We then evaluated associations for allergic rhinitis with and without concomitant asthma.Results: A significant longitudinal association between allergic rhinitis and rs7216389, previously implicated in genome-wide association studies on asthma, was observed (OR:1.17, 95%CI:[1.06, 1.29] with T as the effect allele). Four other SNPs in high linkage disequilibrium with rs7216389 and a fifth SNP were also associated. Associations appeared greatest for concomitant allergic rhinitis and asthma (1.35 [1.11, 1.63] for rs7216389:T), but were also observed for allergic rhinitis without concomitant asthma (1.12 [1.00, 1.24] for rs7216389:T).Conclusions: The results of this large study support the role of the 17q21 locus as a shared genetic susceptibility locus of allergic rhinitis and asthma. ER -