MR GxE

Author

Gibran Hemani

Published

November 20, 2018

Resources

Code (Language: R) Website Paper (Pub Date: 2018-11-20)

Other URLS: none

Method Contact: Jack Bowden ( J.Bowden2@exeter.ac.uk)

Entry Contact: Gibran Hemani ( g.hemani@bristol.ac.uk)

Context

Analysis Type: UVMR MVMR Network MR Bi-Directional MR Non-Linear

Input Data Types: Ind/Ind Ind/SS SS/Ind SS/SSfamily

Exposure Trait Types: Quantitative Binary Time to event

Outcome Trait Types: Quantitative Binary Time to event

Assumptions and Sources of Bias

Source of Bias Addressed
Weak instruments ✗
Winner’s curse ✗
Sample overlap ✗
Uncorrelated horizontal pleiotropy ✓
Correlated horizontal pleiotropy ✓
Ancestry differences in samples ✗
Residual confounding in GWAS ✗
Cross-trait assortative mating ✗
Index-event/conditioning on heritable trait ✗

Description

MR using Gene-by-Environment interactions (MRGxE) is a framework capable of identifying and correcting for pleiotropic bias. If an instrument–covariate interaction induces variation in the association between a genetic instrument and exposure, it is possible to identify and correct for pleiotropic effects. The interpretation of MRGxE is similar to conventional summary MR approaches, with a particular advantage of MRGxE being the ability to assess the validity of an individual instrument.