Pleiotropy-robust Mendelian randomization.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The potential of Mendelian randomization studies is rapidly expanding due to: (i) the growing power of genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analyses to detect genetic variants associated with several exposures; and (ii) the increasing availability of these genetic variants in large-scale surveys. However, without a proper biological understanding of the pleiotropic working of genetic variants, a fundamental assumption of Mendelian randomization (the exclusion restriction) can always be contested.

Methods

We build upon and synthesize recent advances in the literature on instrumental variables (IVs) estimation that test and relax the exclusion restriction. Our pleiotropy-robust Mendelian randomization (PRMR) method first estimates the degree of pleiotropy, and

SUBMITTER: van Kippersluis H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6124631 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature