This included the three most strongly associated variants near HLA-DQA1 (previously implicated in rheumatoid arthritis: see Supplementary Data 2), GDF5 (‘Growth differentiation factor 5’: previously implicated in height, waist hip ratio, muscle mass, and osteoarthritis) and DYM (‘Dymeclin’: implicated in in height). Here, GDF5 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.