But in a study of traits that offer clues to a person’s cardiovascular health—such as lipid and glucose levels and inflammation—a team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University devised a computational method and tool to improve how genes and genetic changes that cause diseases are identified.

Their new approach could allow doctors to detect and treat so-called cardiometabolic diseases earlier in their development. Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

“We have been able to identify new genes that were previously overlooked, expanding our knowledge of the genetic basis of diseases,” said lead researcher Xiaofeng Zhu, a professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.