ERIC Number: EJ1255429
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Dec
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1759-2879
EISSN: N/A
Meta-Analysis and Mendelian Randomization: A Review
Bowden, Jack; Holmes, Michael V.
Research Synthesis Methods, v10 n4 p486-496 Dec 2019
Mendelian randomization (MR) uses genetic variants as instrumental variables to infer whether a risk factor causally affects a health outcome. Meta-analysis has been used historically in MR to combine results from separate epidemiological studies, with each study using a small but select group of genetic variants. In recent years, it has been used to combine genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data for large numbers of genetic variants. Heterogeneity among the causal estimates obtained from multiple genetic variants points to a possible violation of the necessary instrumental variable assumptions. In this article, we provide a basic introduction to MR and the instrumental variable theory that it relies upon. We then describe how random effects models, meta-regression, and robust regression are being used to test and adjust for heterogeneity in order to improve the rigor of the MR approach.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A