Baihan Wang

University of Oxford | OX

Plasma proteomics could enhance risk prediction for multiple diseases beyond conventional risk factors or polygenic scores (PS). To assess utility of proteomics for risk prediction of ischemic heart disease (IHD) compared with conventional risk factors and PS in Chinese and European populations. A nested case-cohort study measured plasma levels of...

Blood-based proteomics can help improve risk prediction and elucidate biological pathways underlying the development of age-related diseases and multi-morbidity. We assessed the associations of ~10,000 plasma proteins, assayed using Olink and SomaScan platforms, with all-cause mortality, 14 incident diseases and multi-morbidity among 2026 Chinese a...

Background: Proteomics offer new insights into human biology and disease aetiology. Previous studies have explored the associations of SomaScan proteins with multiple non-genetic factors, but they typically involved Europeans and a limited range of factors, with no evidence from East Asia populations. Methods: We measured plasma levels of 6,597 uni...

Background Previous studies in European populations have identified a large number of genetic variants affecting plasma levels of Olink proteins, but little is known about the non-genetic factors influencing plasma levels of proteins, particularly in Chinese populations. Methods We measured plasma levels of 2,923 proteins, using Olink Explore plat...

Adiposity is an established risk factor for multiple diseases, but the causal relationships of different adiposity types with circulating protein biomarkers have not been systematically investigated. We examine the causal associations of general and central adiposity with 2923 plasma proteins among 3977 Chinese adults (mean BMI = 23.9 kg/m²). Genet...

Non-optimal temperature is a leading risk factor for global disease burden. Most epidemiological studies assessed only outdoor temperature, with important uncertainties on personal exposure misclassification. The CKB-Air study measured personal, household (kitchen and living room), and outdoor temperatures in the summer (MAY-SEP 2017) and winter (N...

Background: Up to 80% of psychosis patients experience cognitive impairment. High heritability of both psychosis and cognition means cognitive performance could be an endophenotype for psychosis. Methods: Using samples of adults (N=4,506) and children (N=10,981), we investigated the effect of polygenic scores (PGSs) for schizophrenia and bipolar di...

The reliance of outdoor exposure data in epidemiological studies on temperature entails important uncertainties from personal exposure misclassification. We analysed ~88,000 concurrent person-hours of measured personal, household (kitchen and living room), and outdoor temperatures collected in the summer (MAY-SEP 2017) and winter (NOV 2017-JAN 2018...

The reliance of outdoor exposure data in epidemiological studies on temperature entails important uncertainties from personal exposure misclassification. We analysed ~88,000 concurrent person-hours of measured personal, household (kitchen and living room), and outdoor temperatures collected in the summer (MAY-SEP 2017) and winter (NOV 2017-JAN 2018...

Background and Aims The prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is positively correlated with prior cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and CVD risk factors, but is lower in Chinese than Europeans despite their higher burden of CVD. We examined the prevalence and prognosis of AF and other ECG abnormalities in the China Kadoorie Biobank. Methods A random...

Proteomics offers unique insights into human biology and drug development, but few studies have directly compared the utility of different proteomics platforms. We measured 2,168 plasma proteins in 3,976 Chinese adults using both OLINK and SomaScan platforms and compared their genetic determinants and associations with traits and disease risk. For...

Background The N100, an early auditory event-related potential, has been found to be altered in patients with psychosis. However, it is unclear if the N100 is a psychosis endophenotype that is also altered in the relatives of patients. Methods We conducted a family study using the auditory oddball paradigm to compare the N100 amplitude and latency...

Background Integrated analyses of plasma proteomic and genetic markers in prospective studies can clarify the causal relevance of proteins and discover novel targets for ischemic heart disease (IHD) and other diseases. Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine associations of proteomics and genetics data with IHD in population studies to...

Background and hypothesis: Endophenotypes can help to bridge the gap between psychosis and its genetic predispositions, but their underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. This study aims to identify biological mechanisms that are relevant to the endophenotypes for psychosis, by partitioning polygenic risk scores into specific gene sets and te...

Background: Individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia are known to be at high risk of premature mortality due to poor physical health, especially cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. The reasons for these physical health outcomes within this patient population are complex. Despite well-documented cardiometabolic adverse effects of cer...

Background: Dyslipidaemia is an important cardiovascular risk factor for people with severe mental illness, contributing to premature mortality. The link between antipsychotics and dyslipidaemia is well established, while evidence on antidepressants is mixed. Aims: To investigate if antidepressant/antipsychotic use was associated with lipid para...

Psychotic disorders affect 3% of the population at some stage in life, are a leading cause of disability, and impose a great economic burden on society. Major breakthroughs in the genetics of psychosis have not yet been matched by an understanding of its neurobiology. Biomarkers of perception and cognition obtained through non-invasive neurophysiol...

Despite breakthroughs made by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in our understanding of psychosis, further research is still needed to characterise the effects of the genetic variants identified and clarify the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these associations. In this thesis, I aim to bridge these knowledge gaps by studying endophenoty...

Background Dyslipidaemia is an important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity in people with severe mental illness and which contributes to premature mortality in this population. The link between antipsychotics and dyslipidaemia is well-established, whilst evidence on antidepressants is mixed. Aims To investigate (1) if antidepressant/antipsy...

Background Antipsychotic-induced weight gain is a contributing factor in the reduced life expectancy reported amongst people with psychotic disorders. CYP2D6 is a liver enzyme involved in the metabolism of many commonly used antipsychotic medications. We investigated if CYP2D6 genetic variation influenced weight or BMI among people taking antipsych...

Verbal memory impairment is one of the most prominent cognitive deficits in psychosis. However, few studies have investigated the genetic basis of verbal memory in a neurodevelopmental context, and most genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been conducted in European-ancestry populations. We conducted a GWAS on verbal memory in a maximum of...

CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 enzymes are essential in the metabolism of antidepressants and antipsychotics. Genetic variation in these genes may increase risk of adverse drug reactions. Antidepressants and antipsychotics have previously been associated with risk of diabetes. We examined whether individual genetic differences in CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 contribute...

Objective: Psychoses affecting people with epilepsy increase disease burden and diminish quality of life. We characterised post-ictal psychosis, which comprises about one-quarter of epilepsy-related psychoses, and has unknown causation. Methods: We conducted a case-control cohort study including patients diagnosed with post-ictal psychosis, conf...

OBJECTIVE: Psychoses affecting people with epilepsy increase disease burden and diminish quality of life. We characterised post-ictal psychosis, which comprises about one-quarter of epilepsy-related psychoses, and has unknown causation. METHODS: We conducted a case-control cohort study including patients diagnosed with post-ictal psychosis, confirm...

Background CYP2D6 and CYP2C19 enzymes are essential in the metabolism of antidepressants and antipsychotics. Genetic variation in these genes may increase risk of adverse drug reactions. Antidepressants and antipsychotics have previously been associated with risk of diabetes. We examined whether individual genetic differences in CYP2D6 and CYP2C19...

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is a differential electrophysiological response measuring cortical adaptability to unpredictable stimuli. MMN is consistently attenuated in patients with psychosis. However, the genetics of MMN are uncharted, limiting the validation of MMN as a psychosis endophenotype. Here, we perform a transcriptome-wide association stud...