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198
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
January 2013 - present
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München & Helmholtz Zentrum München
Position
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
January 2010 - December 2012
May 2009 - present
Publications
Publications (198)
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a heritable neurodevelopmental disorder for which genetic factors explain up to 75% of the variance. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of ADHD symptom measures, with an effective sample size of 120,092 (71,733 unique individuals from 28 population-based coh...
Background
Pubertal growth patterns correlate with future health outcomes. However, the genetic mechanisms mediating growth trajectories remain largely unknown. Here, we modeled longitudinal height growth with Super-Imposition by Translation And Rotation (SITAR) growth curve analysis on ~ 56,000 trans-ancestry samples with repeated height measureme...
Objective
This study aimed to identify sleep clusters based on objective multidimensional sleep characteristics and test their associations with adolescent cardiometabolic health.
Methods
The authors included 1090 participants aged 14.3 to 16.4 years (mean = 15.2 years) who wore 7‐day accelerometers during the 15‐year follow‐up of the German Infan...
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin condition and prior genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 71 associated loci. In the current study we conducted the largest AD GWAS to date (discovery N = 1,086,394, replication N = 3,604,027), combining previously reported cohorts with additional available data. We identified 81...
There is increasing awareness for beneficial health effects of green space surrounding the home, but the underlying mechanisms are not yet fully understood and challenging to study given the correlation with other exposures. Here, the association of residential greenness and vitamin D including a gene-environment interaction is investigated. 25-hyd...
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin condition and prior genome-wide association studies have identified 71 associated loci. In the current study we conducted the largest AD GWAS to date (discovery N=1,086,394, replication N=3,604,027), combining previously reported cohorts with additional available data. We identified 81 loci (29 n...
Cord blood metabolites can be predictive of long-term disease risk, but how levels of different metabolites might vary with respect to maternal diet is not well understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of different dietary patterns during pregnancy with cord blood metabolites (including glycerophospholipid fatty acids, pol...
Background
Allergic diseases often develop jointly during early childhood but differ in timing of onset, remission, and progression. Their disease course over time is often difficult to predict and determinants are not well understood.
Objectives
We aimed to identify trajectories of allergic diseases up to adolescence and to investigate their asso...
Background
DNA methylation (DNAm) is considered a plausible pathway through which genetic and environmental factors may influence the development of allergies. However, causality has yet to be determined as it is unknown whether DNAm is rather a cause or consequence of allergic sensitization. Here, we investigated the direction of the observed asso...
Background
Head circumference is associated with intelligence and tracks from childhood into adulthood.
Methods
We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis and follow-up of head circumference in a total of 29,192 participants between 6 and 30 months of age.
Results
Seven loci reached genome-wide significance in the combined discove...
BackgroundDNA methylation (DNAm) is considered a plausible pathway through which genetic and environmental factors may influence the development of allergies. However, causality has yet to be determined as it is unknown whether DNAm is rather a cause or consequence of allergic sensitization.Here, we investigated the direction of the observed associ...
Background
Epigenomic (e.g., DNA methylation [DNAm]) changes have been hypothesized as intermediate step linking environmental exposures with allergic disease. Associations between individual DNAm at CpGs and allergic diseases have been reported, but their joint predictive capability is unknown.
Methods
Data were obtained from 240 children of the...
Objective
To investigate the genetic architecture of internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence.
Method
In 22 cohorts, multiple univariate genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were performed using repeated assessments of internalizing symptoms, in a total of 64,561 children aged between 3 and 18. Results were aggregated in meta-analyse...
Background It has been hypothesized that epigenomic modifications such as genomic methylation changes are an intermediate step linking environmental exposures with allergic disease development. Associations between individual DNA methylation CpG sites and allergic diseases have been reported, but they have not been assessed regarding their joint pr...
We test whether genetic influences that explain individual differences in aggression in early life also explain individual differences across the life-course. In two cohorts from The Netherlands ( N = 13,471) and Australia ( N = 5628), polygenic scores (PGSs) were computed based on a genome-wide meta-analysis of childhood/adolescence aggression. In...
Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) has a substantial heritability of around 50%. Here we present a genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of childhood AGG, in which all phenotype measures across childhood ages from multiple assessors were included. We analyzed phenotype assessments for a total of 328 935 observations from 87 485 children ag...
Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine with both pro- and anti-inflammatory properties with a heritability estimate of up to 61%. The circulating levels of IL-6 in blood have been associated with an increased risk of complex disease pathogenesis. We conducted a two-staged, discovery, and replication meta genome-wide association study (G...
The genetic background of childhood body mass index (BMI), and the extent to which the well-known associations of childhood BMI with adult diseases are explained by shared genetic factors, are largely unknown. We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of BMI in 61,111 children aged between 2 and 10 years. Twenty-five independent lo...
Internalising symptoms in childhood and adolescence are as heritable as adult depression and anxiety, yet little is known of their molecular basis. This genome-wide association meta-analysis of internalising symptoms included repeated observations from 64,641 individuals, aged between 3 and 18. The N-weighted meta-analysis of overall internalising...
Background:
Whether long-term air pollution exposure has effects on allergic sensitization is controversial.
Objective:
To investigate associations of air pollution exposure at birth and at the time of later biosampling, with IgE sensitization against common food/inhalant allergens, or specific allergen molecules, in children up to 16 years.
Me...
Background
Fetal smoke exposure is a common and key avoidable risk factor for birth complications and seems to influence later risk of overweight. It is unclear whether this increased risk is also present if mothers smoke during the first trimester only or reduce the number of cigarettes during pregnancy, or when only fathers smoke. We aimed to ass...
Background
Allergic diseases often occur in combination (multimorbidity). Human blood transcriptome studies have not addressed multimorbidity. Large‐scale gene expression data were combined to retrieve biomarkers and signaling pathways to disentangle allergic multimorbidity phenotypes.
Methods
Integrated transcriptomic analysis was conducted in 12...
Background:
Sugar-sweetened drinks (SSDs) are known to be cariogenic, but this association has not been well investigated in population-based repeated cross-sectional studies in recent years. Therefore, this study examined whether SSD intake is associated with higher caries experience in 10- and 15-year-olds.
Methods:
The study sample included p...
Background
Human aggressive behavior (AGG) has a substantial genetic component. Here we present a large genome-wide association meta-analysis (GWAMA) of childhood AGG.
Methods
We analyzed assessments of AGG for a total of 328,935 observations from 87,485 children (aged 1.5 – 18 years), from multiple assessors, instruments, and ages, while accounti...
Importance
Observational studies have shown associations of birth weight with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and glycemic traits, but it remains unclear whether these associations represent causal associations.
Objective
To test the association of birth weight with T2D and glycemic traits using a mendelian randomization analysis.
Design, Setting, and Part...
While the association between early life determinants and the development of the gut microbiome composition in infancy has been widely investigated, a potential persistent influence of early life determinants on the gut microbial community after its stabilization at later childhood remains largely unknown. Therefore, we aimed to identify the associ...
Early childhood growth patterns are associated with adult health, yet the genetic factors and the developmental stages involved are not fully understood. Here, we combine genome-wide association studies with modeling of longitudinal growth traits to study the genetics of infant and child growth, followed by functional, pathway, genetic correlation,...
Results Oral health and lung function FEV1: forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC: forced vital capacity Sensitivity analyses Sensitivity analyses excluding smokers, subjects with asthma or subjects during the last 7 days prior to medical examination with anti-inflammatory medication drug intake : None of these potential influencing factors...
Although hundreds of GWAS-implicated loci have been reported for adult obesity-related traits, less is known about the genetics specific for early-onset obesity, and with only a few studies conducted in non-European populations to date. Searching for additional genetic variants associated with childhood obesity, we performed a trans-ancestral meta-...
Birth weight variation is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors, and has been reproducibly associated with future cardio-metabolic health outcomes. In expanded genome-wide association analyses of own birth weight (n = 321,223) and offspring birth weight (n = 230,069 mothers), we identified 190 independent association sign...
Childhood obesity prevalence is rising in countries worldwide. A variety of etiologic factors contribute to childhood obesity but little is known about underlying biochemical mechanisms. We performed an individual participant meta-analysis including 1,020 pre-pubertal children from three European studies and investigated the associations of 285 met...
Objective:
To assess the separate and combined associations of maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain with the risks of pregnancy complications and their population impact.
Design:
Individual participant data meta-analysis of 39 cohorts.
Setting:
Europe, North America, and Oceania.
Population:
265 270 births...
The impact of many unfavorable childhood traits or diseases, such as low birth weight and mental disorders, is not limited to childhood and adolescence, as they are also associated with poor outcomes in adulthood, such as cardiovascular disease. Insight into the genetic etiology of childhood and adolescent traits and disorders may therefore provide...
Background
Maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain may have persistent effects on offspring fat development. However, it remains unclear whether these effects differ by severity of obesity, and whether these effects are restricted to the extremes of maternal body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain. We aimed to assess the se...
Associations of gestational weight gain with the risk of overweight/obesity assessed by 2-stage IPD meta-analysis.
(PDF)
Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain clinical categories with childhood BMI SDS: Complete case analysis.
(PDF)
Country-specific PARs of maternal overweight, maternal obesity, and excessive gestational weight gain for mid childhood overweight/obesity.
(PDF)
Cohort-specific description of available covariates.
(PDF)
Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI clinical categories with the risk of childhood overweight/obesity, additionally adjusted for gestational diabetes.
(PDF)
Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI clinical categories with the risk of childhood overweight/obesity, additionally adjusted for gestational hypertensive disorders.
(PDF)
Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain clinical categories with the risk of childhood underweight.
(PDF)
Contact information for data requests per cohort.
(PDF)
Plan for analysis for invitation of cohorts.
(PDF)
Country-specific description of exposures and outcomes.
(PDF)
Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI with the risk of childhood overweight/obesity assessed by 2-stage IPD meta-analysis.
(PDF)
Cohort-specific methods of data collection.
(PDF)
Sources of funding/support per cohort.
(PDF)
Acknowledgments per cohort.
(PDF)
Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI clinical categories with the risk of childhood overweight/obesity, additionally adjusted for gestational-age-adjusted birth weight.
(PDF)
Associations of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and gestational weight gain clinical categories with the risk of childhood overweight/obesity: Complete case analysis.
(PDF)
Background
Gestational weight gain differs according to pre-pregnancy body mass index and is related to the risks of adverse maternal and child health outcomes. Gestational weight gain charts for women in different pre-pregnancy body mass index groups enable identification of women and offspring at risk for adverse health outcomes. We aimed to cons...
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive biomarker of chronic low-grade inflammation and is associated with multiple complex diseases. The genetic determinants of chronic inflammation remain largely unknown, and the causal role of CRP in several clinical outcomes is debated. We performed two genome-wide association studies (GWASs), on HapMap and 100...
Birth weight (BW) variation is influenced by fetal and maternal genetic and non-genetic factors, and has been reproducibly associated with future cardio-metabolic health outcomes. These associations have been proposed to reflect the lifelong consequences of an adverse intrauterine environment. In earlier work, we demonstrated that much of the negat...
In the version of this article initially published, in Fig. 3, the y-axis numbering did not match the log scale indicated in the axis label. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF version of the article.
