Conditional inference in cis-Mendelian randomization using weak genetic factors.

ABSTRACT: Mendelian randomization (MR) is a widely used method to estimate the causal effect of an exposure on an outcome by using genetic variants as instrumental variables. MR analyses that use variants from only a single genetic region (cis-MR) encoding the protein target of a drug are able to provide supporting evidence for drug target validation. This paper proposes methods for cis-MR inference that use many correlated variants to make robust inferences even in situations, where those variants have only weak effects on the exposure. In particular, we exploit the highly structured nature of genetic correlations in single gene regions to reduce the dimension of genetic variants using factor analysis. These genetic factors are then used as instrumental variables to construct tests for the causal e

SUBMITTER: Patel A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7615409 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature