From the GWAS results and SNP annotation performed with WGAViewer ver. 1.25, SNPs were prioritized for follow-up genotyping according to association P-values, concordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, predicted functions, linkage disequilibrium context, and gene functions and expression patterns. Forty-two SNPs were genotyped in the family-based replication sample (N = 1,095). The corresponding theta ERO data set has a mean value of 3.99 ± 1.18 μV and range of 1.05 μV to 8.56 μV, with no evidence of kurtosis, and an estimated heritability of 0.56 (P = 3.7 × 10−28) based on maximum likelihood variation decomposition implemented in SOLAR. The second stage association analysis produced six significant or near significant SNPs for the measured genotype test (no evidence of stratification or Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium was detected for these particular markers), of which four exhibited genetic effect sizes (β coefficients) and directions (relative to the minor allele) that are consistent across the two stages. The MAFs and association results for the four SNPs are presented in Table III, along with combined P-values for the two stages using Fisher’s combined probability test [Fisher, 1925]. The
