Data description

GAW19 provided genome sequence data (for odd-numbered autosomes), simulated phenotypes, and covariates for 849 individuals from large Mexican American families [13]. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), hypertension status, sex, age, smoking habits, and blood pressure medication information is provided at each of 3 examination periods in the simulated data. The simulated data was used in this analysis in order to evaluate type I error and power. To account for the effect of blood pressure medication on blood pressure levels, we made a standard adjustment by adding 10 mmHg and 5 mmHg to the SBP and DBP measurements, respectively, for subjects taking blood pressure medication at each examination [14, 15]. We also calculated the mean arterial pressure (MAP), our response variable of interest, for each individual using the standard formula (MAP = 2/3 DBP + 1/3 SBP). To collapse longitudinal phenotype and covariate information, average age, SBP, DBP, and MAP were calculated and smoking habit was collapsed into a binary variable for whether the subject smoked at least once during the 3 examination periods.