A framework for analyzing associations and interactions of genetic and non-genetic risk factors toward complex disease outcomes

Complex diseases result from a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. The vast majority of non-communicable diseases are also referred to as complex diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, and many more, and they are responsible for most of the burden on the health care system. Environmental factors acting alone or in concert with genetic or other host susceptibility factors have long been implicated as major contributors to disease burden. Identifying and understanding factors that influence complex diseases is important to guide health-related choices and medical interventions. Yet identification of specific genetic or environmental factors, their interactions, and their effects on human complex disease has remained elusive. An environment-wide association study (EWAS) is a type of epidemiological study analogous to the genome-wide association study (GWAS). The EWAS can systematically examines the association between a complex disease and multiple individual environmental factors. This research aims to search for genetic and environmental factors associated with complex diseases on a broad scale by performing GWAS and EWAS. We also plan to develop a framework for quantifying the contribution of genes, environmental factors, and gene-environment interactions to complex diseases, which can help understand the role of genetics and environment in determining the course of a disease. This project will enhance our understanding of the genetic architecture and pathways of complex diseases. These results generated from this project could inform public health authorities and the general public themselves which risk factors associated with complex diseases should be paid more attention to and the extent to which the changes of environmental and lifestyle factors may help offset the genetic risk of complex disease. This project is excepted to take around 36 months to complete.