Genome-wide association and population… | 2012

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47/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 47 out of 100. TREM2 and immune genetics

Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models

Plain-language summary

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a systemic inflammation marker that predicts future cardiovascular risk. CRP levels are higher in African Americans and Hispanic Americans than in European Americans, but the genetic determinants of CRP in these admixed United States minority populations are largely unknown. We performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of 8,280 African American (AA) and 3,548 Hispanic American (HA) postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative SNP Health Association Resource.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Reiner, A. P., Beleza, S., Franceschini, N., Auer, P. L., Robinson, J. G., Kooperberg, C., et al. (2012). Genome-wide association and population genetic analysis of C-reactive protein in African American and Hispanic American women. American journal of human genetics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.07.023

Vancouver

Reiner AP, Beleza S, Franceschini N, Auer PL, Robinson JG, Kooperberg C, et al. Genome-wide association and population genetic analysis of C-reactive protein in African American and Hispanic American women. American journal of human genetics. 2012. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.07.023. PMID: 22939635.

BibTeX

@article{reiner2012-22939635,
  author  = {Reiner, A. P. and Beleza, S. and Franceschini, N. and Auer, P. L. and Robinson, J. G. and Kooperberg, C. and Peters, U. and Tang, H.},
  title   = {{Genome-wide association and population genetic analysis of C-reactive protein in African American and Hispanic American women}},
  journal = {American journal of human genetics},
  year    = {2012},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.07.023},
  pmid    = {22939635},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2012.07.023}
}

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How to read this study

Design: our record does not state a study design, so check the methods section of the original before weighing the result.
Size: the record gives no participant count. Look for one in the original before trusting a pattern.
Effect: the record gives no effect size, so the summary above cannot say how large any difference was.

What the evidence grade means here

This page is graded low. alzhub.org assigns the grade automatically from keywords in the abstract, not from reading the paper. Low means the abstract matched neither pattern. It is the default label, and it does not mean the work is poor; many sound lab and imaging papers land here. It can add at most 5 of the 100 points in the study score, and it is a label about design, not a verdict on whether the findings are true.

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Key findings

CRP levels are higher in African Americans and Hispanic Americans than in European Americans, but the genetic determinants of CRP in these admixed United States minority populations are largely unknown.
We performed genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of 8,280 African American (AA) and 3,548 Hispanic American (HA) postmenopausal women from the Women's Health Initiative SNP Health Association Resource.
We discovered and validated a CRP-associated variant of triggering receptors expressed by myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) in chromosomal region 6p21 (p = 10(-10)).
The TREM2 variant associated with higher CRP is common in Africa but rare in other ancestral populations.

Why it matters

This genome-wide association study in African American and Hispanic American women found a CRP-associated variant in TREM2. It concerns C-reactive protein and cardiovascular risk, not the treatment, cure, or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Genetics →

Study details

Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 47/100

Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	7 / 10	Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (American journal of human genetics)
Journal's citation record	3 / 4	The American Journal of Human Genetics: journal h-index 385 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	0 / 4	Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	0 / 3	Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	5 / 7	Cited 130 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	3 / 5	8.1 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012
Impact for its field and year	3 / 6	Cited 5.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	2 / 6	Cited by 4 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 20 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Hua Tang: h-index 71 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	3 / 3	University of Washington: institution h-index 3,540 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22939635)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	47 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

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