Modeling Genetic and Environmental Factors in Biological Systems Using Structural Equation Modeling: An Application to Energy Balance.

ABSTRACT: To improve our understanding of the role(s) that genes and environmental factors play in a complex disease, we need statistical approaches that model multiple factors simultaneously in a hierarchical manner that aims to reflect the underlying biological system(s). We present an approach that models genes as latent constructs, defined by multiple variants (single nucleotide polymorphisms, SNPs) within each gene, using the multivariate statistical framework of structural equation modeling (SEM) to model multiple, putative genetic and environmental factors involved in energy imbalance ('obesity') using subjects from a colon polyp case-control study. We found that modeling constructs for the leptin receptor (LEPR) gene (defined by SNPs rs1137100, rs1137101, rs1805096, rs6588147) and the fat ma

SUBMITTER: Nock NL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3096484 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature