A meta-analysis of genome-wide linkage scans for hypertension:The National Heart, Lung and BloodInstitute Family Blood Pressure Program

Background Four multicenter Networks (GenNet, GENOA, HyperGEN, SAPPHIRe) form the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Family Blood Pressure Program (FBPP), to search for hypertension/blood pressure (BP) genes. The networks used different family designs and targeted multiple ethnic groups, using standardized protocols and definitions. Linkage genome scans were done on samples within each network (N = 6245 relatives). Methods The evidence was synthesized using meta-analysis. Results Combining ethnic groups, no region reached LOD >2, but several small peaks were identified, including chromosome 2p where two other recent reports find hypertension linkage. Conclusions No regions show uniformly large effects on BP/hypertension in all populations.