Founder population-specific weights yield improvements in performance of polygenic risk scores for Alzheimer disease in the Midwestern Amish.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and is estimated to affect 6 million Americans. Risk for AD is multifactorial, including both genetic and environmental risk factors. AD genomic research has generally focused on identification of risk variants. Using this information, polygenic risk scores (PRSs) can be calculated to quantify an individual's relative disease risk due to genetic factors. The Amish are a founder population descended from German and Swiss Anabaptist immigrants. They experienced a genetic bottleneck after arrival in the United States, making their genetic architecture different from the broader European ancestry population. Prior work has demonstrated the lack of transferability of PRSs across populations. Here, we compared the performance of PRSs derived from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of Amish individuals to those derived from a large European ancestry GWAS. Participants were screened for cognitive impairment with further evaluation for AD. Genotype data were imputed after collection via Illumina genotyping arrays. The Amish individuals were split into two groups based on the primary site of recruitment. For each group, GWAS was conducted with account for relatedness and adjustment for covariates. PRSs were then calculated using weights from the other Amish group. PRS models were evaluated with and without covariates. The Amish-derived PRSs distinguished between dementia status better than the European-derived PRS in our Amish populations and demonstrated performance improvements despite a smaller training sample size. This work highlighted considerations for AD PRS usage in populations that cannot be adequately described by basic race/ethnicity or ancestry classifications.

Visuospatial and Verbal Memory Differences in Amish Individuals With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias.

BACKGROUND: Verbal and visuospatial memory impairments are common to Alzheimer disease and Related Dementias (ADRD), but the patterns of decline in these domains may reflect genetic and lifestyle influences. The latter may be pertinent to populations such as the Amish who have unique lifestyle experiences. METHODS: Our data set included 420 Amish and 401 CERAD individuals. Sex-adjusted, age-adjusted, and education-adjusted Z-scores were calculated for the recall portions of the Constructional Praxis Delay (CPD) and Word List Delay (WLD). ANOVAs were then used to examine the main and interaction effects of cohort (Amish, CERAD), cognitive status (case, control), and sex on CPD and WLD Z-scores. RESULTS: The Amish performed better on the CPD than the CERAD cohort. In addition, the difference between cases and controls on the CPD and WLD were smaller in the Amish and Amish female cases performed better on the WLD than the CERAD female cases. DISCUSSION: The Amish performed better on the CPD task, and ADRD-related declines in CPD and WLD were less severe in the Amish. In addition, Amish females with ADRD may have preferential preservation of WLD. This study provides evidence that the Amish exhibit distinct patterns of verbal and visuospatial memory loss associated with aging and ADRD.

Psychometric approaches to defining cognitive phenotypes in the Old Order Amish.

OBJECTIVE: Memory and cognitive problems are central to the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Psychometric approaches to defining phenotypes can aid in identify genetic variants associated with AD. However, these approaches have mostly been limited to affected individuals. Defining phenotypes of both affected and unaffected individuals may help identify genetic variants associated with both AD and healthy aging. This study compares psychometric methods for developing cognitive phenotypes that are more granular than clinical classifications. METHODS: 682 older Old Order Amish individuals were included in the analysis. Adjusted Z-scores of cognitive tests were used to create four models including (1) global threshold scores or (2) memory threshold scores, and (3) global clusters and (4) memory clusters. An ordinal regression examined the coherence of the models with clinical classifications (cognitively impaired [CI], mildly impaired [MI], cognitively unimpaired), APOE-e4, sex, and age. An ANOVA examined the best model phenotypes for differences in clinical classification, APOE-e4, domain Z-scores (memory, language, executive function, and processing speed), sex, and age. RESULTS: The memory cluster identified four phenotypes and had the best fit (χ2  = 491.66). Individuals in the worse performing phenotypes were more likely to be classified as CI or MI and to have APOE-e4. Additionally, all four phenotypes performed significantly differently from one another on the domains of memory, language, and executive functioning. CONCLUSIONS: Memory cluster stratification identified the cognitive phenotypes that best aligned with clinical classifications, APOE-e4, and cognitive performance We predict these phenotypes will prove useful in searching for protective genetic variants.

Genetic variants in the SHISA6 gene are associated with delayed cognitive impairment in two family datasets.

INTRODUCTION: Studies of cognitive impairment (CI) in Amish communities have identified sibships containing CI and cognitively unimpaired (CU) individuals. We hypothesize that CU individuals may carry protective alleles delaying age at onset (AAO) of CI. METHODS: A total of 1522 individuals screened for CI were genotyped. The outcome studied was AAO for CI individuals or age at last normal exam for CU individuals. Cox mixed-effects models examined association between age and single nucleotide variants (SNVs). RESULTS: Three SNVs were significantly associated (P < 5 × 10-8 ) with AAO on chromosomes 6 (rs14538074; hazard ratio [HR] = 3.35), 9 (rs534551495; HR = 2.82), and 17 (rs146729640; HR = 6.38). The chromosome 17 association was replicated in the independent National Institute on Aging Genetics Initiative for Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease dataset. DISCUSSION: The replicated genome-wide significant association with AAO on chromosome 17 is located in the SHISA6 gene, which is involved in post-synaptic transmission in the hippocampus and is a biologically plausible candidate gene for Alzheimer's disease.

Genetic analysis of cognitive preservation in the midwestern Amish reveals a novel locus on chromosome 2.

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer disease (AD) remains a debilitating condition with limited treatments and additional therapeutic targets needed. Identifying AD protective genetic loci may identify new targets and accelerate identification of therapeutic treatments. We examined a founder population to identify loci associated with cognitive preservation into advanced age. METHODS: Genome-wide association and linkage analyses were performed on 946 examined and sampled Amish individuals, aged 76-95, who were either cognitively unimpaired (CU) or impaired (CI). RESULTS: 12 SNPs demonstrated suggestive association (P≤5×10-4) with cognitive preservation. Genetic linkage analyses identified >100 significant (LOD≥3.3) SNPs, some which overlapped with the association results. Only one locus on chromosome 2 retained significance across multiple analyses. DISCUSSION: A novel significant result for cognitive preservation on chromosome 2 includes the genes LRRTM4 and CTNNA2. Additionally, the lead SNP, rs1402906, impacts the POU3F2 transcription factor binding affinity, which regulates LRRTM4 and CTNNA2.

Consequences of a Rare Complement Factor H Variant for Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Amish.

Purpose: Genetic variants in the complement factor H gene (CFH) have been consistently implicated in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) risk. However, their functional effects are not fully characterized. We previously identified a rare, AMD-associated variant in CFH (P503A, rs570523689) in 19 Amish individuals, but its functional consequences were not investigated. Methods: We performed genotyping for CFH P503A in 1326 Amish individuals to identify additional risk allele carriers. We examined differences for age at AMD diagnosis between carriers and noncarriers. In blood samples from risk allele carriers and noncarriers, we quantified (i) CFH RNA expression, (ii) CFH protein expression, and (iii) C-reactive protein (CRP) expression. Potential changes to the CFH protein structure were interrogated computationally with Phyre2 and Chimera software programs. Results: We identified 39 additional carriers from Amish communities in Ohio and Indiana. On average, carriers were younger than noncarriers at AMD diagnosis, but this difference was not significant. CFH transcript and protein levels in blood samples from Amish carriers and noncarriers were also not significantly different. CRP levels were also comparable in plasma samples from carriers and noncarriers. Computational protein modeling showed slight changes in the CFH protein conformation that were predicted to alter interactions between the CFH 503 residue and other neighboring residues. Conclusions: In total, we have identified 58 risk allele carriers for CFH P503A in the Ohio and Indiana Amish. Although we did not detect significant differences in age at AMD diagnosis or expression levels of CFH in blood samples from carriers and noncarriers, we observed modest structural changes to the CFH protein through in silico modeling. Based on our functional and computational observations, we hypothesize that CFH P503A may affect CFH binding or function rather than expression, which would require additional research to confirm.

The genetic architecture of Alzheimer disease risk in the Ohio and Indiana Amish.

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia and is currently estimated to affect 6.2 million Americans. It ranks as the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and the proportion of deaths due to AD has been increasing since 2000, while the proportion of many other leading causes of deaths have decreased or remained constant. The risk for AD is multifactorial, including genetic and environmental risk factors. Although APOE ε4 remains the largest genetic risk factor for AD, more than 26 other loci have been associated with AD risk. Here, we recruited Amish adults from Ohio and Indiana to investigate AD risk and protective genetic effects. As a founder population that typically practices endogamy, variants that are rare in the general population may be of a higher frequency in the Amish population. Since the Amish have a slightly lower incidence and later age of onset of disease, they represent an excellent and unique population for research on protective genetic variants. We compared AD risk in the Amish and to a non-Amish population through APOE genotype, a non-APOE genetic risk score of genome-wide significant variants, and a non-APOE polygenic risk score considering all of the variants. Our results highlight the lesser relative impact of APOE and differing genetic architecture of AD risk in the Amish compared to a non-Amish, general European ancestry population.

The GGLEAM Study: Understanding Glaucoma in the Ohio Amish.

Glaucoma leads to millions of cases of visual impairment and blindness around the world. Its susceptibility is shaped by both environmental and genetic risk factors. Although over 120 risk loci have been identified for glaucoma, a large portion of its heritability is still unexplained. Here we describe the foundation of the Genetics of GLaucoma Evaluation in the AMish (GGLEAM) study to investigate the genetic architecture of glaucoma in the Ohio Amish, which exhibits lower genetic and environmental heterogeneity compared to the general population. To date, we have enrolled 81 Amish individuals in our study from Holmes County, Ohio. As a part of our enrollment process, 62 GGLEAM study participants (42 glaucoma-affected and 20 unaffected individuals) received comprehensive eye examinations and glaucoma evaluations. Using the data from the Anabaptist Genealogy Database, we found that 80 of the GGLEAM study participants were related to one another through a large, multigenerational pedigree containing 1586 people. We plan to integrate the health and kinship data obtained for the GGLEAM study to interrogate glaucoma genetics and pathophysiology in this unique population.

Lower Levels of Education Are Associated with Cognitive Impairment in the Old Order Amish.

BACKGROUND: Lower education has been reported to be associated with dementia. However, many studies have been done in settings where 12 years of formal education is the standard. Formal schooling in the Old Order Amish communities (OOA) ends at 8th grade which, along with their genetic homogeneity, makes it an interesting population to study the effect of education on cognitive impairment. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine the association of education with cognitive function in individuals from the OOA. We hypothesized that small differences in educational attainment at lower levels of formal education were associated with risk for cognitive impairment. METHODS: Data of 2,426 individuals from the OOA aged 54-99 were analyzed. The Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS-R) was used to classify participants as CI or normal. Individuals were classified into three education categories: <8, 8, and >8 years of education. To measure the association of education with cognitive status, a logistic regression model was performed adding age and sex as covariates. RESULTS: Our results showed that individuals who attained lowest levels of education (<8 and 8) had a higher probability of becoming cognitvely impaired compared with people attending >8 years (OR = 2.96 and 1.85). CONCLUSION: Even within a setting of low levels of formal education, small differences in educational attainment can still be associated with the risk of cognitive impairment. Given the homogeneity of the OOA, these results are less likely to be biased by differences in socioeconomic backgrounds.

Rare variants and loci for age-related macular degeneration in the Ohio and Indiana Amish.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in the world. While dozens of independent genomic variants are associated with AMD, about one-third of AMD heritability is still unexplained. To identify novel variants and loci for AMD, we analyzed Illumina HumanExome chip data from 87 Amish individuals with early or late AMD, 79 unaffected Amish individuals, and 15 related Amish individuals with unknown AMD affection status. We retained 37,428 polymorphic autosomal variants across 175 samples for association and linkage analyses. After correcting for multiple testing (n = 37,428), we identified four variants significantly associated with AMD: rs200437673 (LCN9, p = 1.50 × 10-11), rs151214675 (RTEL1, p = 3.18 × 10-8), rs140250387 (DLGAP1, p = 4.49 × 10-7), and rs115333865 (CGRRF1, p = 1.05 × 10-6). These variants have not been previously associated with AMD and are not in linkage disequilibrium with the 52 known AMD-associated variants reported by the International AMD Genomics Consortium based on physical distance. Genome-wide significant linkage peaks were observed on chromosomes 8q21.11-q21.13 (maximum recessive HLOD = 4.03) and 18q21.2-21.32 (maximum dominant HLOD = 3.87; maximum recessive HLOD = 4.27). These loci do not overlap with loci previously linked to AMD. Through gene ontology enrichment analysis with ClueGO in Cytoscape, we determined that several genes in the 1-HLOD support interval of the chromosome 8 locus are involved in fatty acid binding and triglyceride catabolic processes, and the 1-HLOD support interval of the linkage region on chromosome 18 is enriched in genes that participate in serine-type endopeptidase inhibitor activity and the positive regulation of epithelial to mesenchymal transition. These results nominate novel variants and loci for AMD that require further investigation.

AMISH EYE STUDY: Baseline Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Characteristics of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

PURPOSE: To describe spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) findings in an Amish cohort to assess SD-OCT markers for early age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: The authors performed a family-based prospective cohort study of 1,146 elderly Amish subjects (age range 50-99 years) (2,292 eyes) who had a family history of at least 1 individual with AMD. All subjects underwent complete ophthalmic examinations, SD-OCT using both Cirrus and Spectralis (20 × 20° scan area) instruments, fundus autofluorescence, infrared imaging, and color fundus photography. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography characteristics were analyzed in subjects with AMD (with and without subretinal drusenoid deposits [SDDs]) and normal healthy cohorts. RESULTS: Participants' mean age was 65.2 years (SD ± 11). Color fundus photographic findings in 596 (53%) subjects (1,009 eyes) were consistent with AMD; the remaining 478 (43%) subjects showed no signs of AMD. The choroid was significantly thinner on OCT (242 ± 76 µm, P < 0.001) in those with AMD compared with those without (263 ± 63 µm). Subretinal drusenoid deposits were found in 143 eyes (7%); 11 of the 143 eyes (8%) had no other manifestations of AMD. Drusen volume (P < 0.001) and area of geographic atrophy (P < 0.001) were significantly greater, and choroid was significantly (P < 0.001) thinner in subjects with SDDs versus those without SDDs. CONCLUSION: The authors describe spectral domain optical coherence tomography characteristics in an elderly Amish population with and without AMD, including the frequency of SDD. Although relatively uncommon in this population, the authors confirmed that SDDs can be found in the absence of other features of AMD and that eyes with SDDs have thinner choroids.

Heritability of Choroidal Thickness in the Amish.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the heritability of choroidal thickness and its relationship to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). DESIGN: Cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred eighty-nine individuals from Amish families with early or intermediate AMD. METHODS: Ocular coherence tomography was used to quantify choroidal thickness, and fundus photography was used to classify eyes into categories using a modified Clinical Age-Related Maculopathy Staging (CARMS) system. Repeatability and heritability of choroidal thickness and its phenotypic and genetic correlations with the AMD phenotype (CARMS category) were estimated using a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) approach that accounted for relatedness, repeated measures (left and right eyes), and the effects of age, gender, and refraction. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Heritability of choroidal thickness and its phenotypic and genetic correlation with the AMD phenotype (CARMS category). RESULTS: Phenotypic correlation between choroidal thickness and CARMS category was moderate (Spearman's rank correlation, rs = -0.24; n = 1313 eyes) and significant (GLMM posterior mean, -4.27; 95% credible interval [CI], -7.88 to -0.79; P = 0.02) after controlling for relatedness, age, gender, and refraction. Eyes with advanced AMD had thinner choroids than eyes without AMD (posterior mean, -73.8; 95% CI, -94.7 to -54.6; P < 0.001; n = 1178 eyes). Choroidal thickness was highly repeatable within individuals (repeatability, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.89) and moderately heritable (heritability, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.51), but did not show significant genetic correlation with CARMS category, although the effect size was moderate (genetic correlation, -0.18; 95% CI, -0.49 to 0.16). Choroidal thickness also varied with age, gender, and refraction. The CARMS category showed moderate heritability (heritability, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.26 to 0.72). CONCLUSIONS: We quantify the heritability of choroidal thickness for the first time, highlighting a heritable, quantitative trait that is measurable in all individuals regardless of AMD affection status, and moderately phenotypically correlated with AMD severity. Choroidal thickness therefore may capture variation not captured by the CARMS system. However, because the genetic correlation between choroidal thickness and AMD severity was not significant in our data set, genes associated with the 2 traits may not overlap substantially. Future studies should therefore test for genetic variation associated with choroidal thickness to determine the overlap in genetic basis with AMD.