[TECHNIQUES] Polygenic Mendelian Randomization

This article reviews the concepts and assumptions underlying the commonly used polygenic MR methods. Using a polygenic score as an instrument is equivalent to a weighted mean of individual SNP results, and the other fundamental averages, median and mode, may also be used to estimate causal effects. Outlier detection is useful for identifying pleiotropic SNPs to be excluded from analysis. Bayesian approaches are available to incorporate prior beliefs about pleiotropy. These methods each entail different assumptions, and together provide a set of sensitivity analyses to help triangulate evidence about causality.

Source: Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine - February 1, 2021 Category: Research Authors: Dudbridge, F. Tags: Combining Human Genetics and Causal Inference to Understand Human Disease and Development TECHNIQUES Source Type: research