Visualizing disease associations: graphic analysis of frequency distributions as a function of age using moving average plots (MAP) with application to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

ABSTRACT: Age-related variation in marker frequency can be a confounder in association studies, leading to both false-positive and false-negative findings and subsequently to inconsistent reproducibility. We have developed a simple method, based on a novel extension of moving average plots (MAP), which allows investigators to inspect the frequency data for hidden age-related variations. MAP uses the standard case-control association data and generates a birds-eye view of the frequency distributions across the age spectrum; a picture in which one can see if, how, and when the marker frequencies in cases differ from that in controls. The marker can be specified as an allele, genotype, haplotype, or environmental factor; and age can be age-at-onset, age when subject was last known to be unaffected, or

SUBMITTER: Payami H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2796703 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature