A simulation study of gene-by-environment interactions in GWAS implies ample hidden effects.

ABSTRACT: The switch to a modern lifestyle in recent decades has coincided with a rapid increase in prevalence of obesity and other diseases. These shifts in prevalence could be explained by the release of genetic susceptibility for disease in the form of gene-by-environment (GxE) interactions. Yet, the detection of interaction effects requires large sample sizes, little replication has been reported, and a few studies have demonstrated environmental effects only after summing the risk of GWAS alleles into genetic risk scores (GRSxE). We performed extensive simulations of a quantitative trait controlled by 2500 causal variants to inspect the feasibility to detect gene-by-environment interactions in the context of GWAS. The simulated individuals were assigned either to an ancestral or a modern settin

SUBMITTER: Marigorta UM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4104702 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature