International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 33, Number 1, pp. 26-29
IJE vol.33 no.1 © International Epidemiological Association 2004; all rights reserved.
Reprints and Reflections |
Commentary: Development of Mendelian randomization: from hypothesis test to ‘Mendelian deconfounding’
University of Leicester, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, 22–28 Princess Road West, Leicester LE1 6TP, UK. E-mail: mt47@leicester.ac.uk
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
In his letter to the Lancet in 1986, reprinted in this issue of the International Journal of Epidemiology (IJE), Katan described the idea of using data from genetic studies to test for a relationship between a quantitative intermediate phenotype and a disease in a way that is not distorted by confounding or reverse causality.1 Following the application of these ideas by other authors2–5 interest in the concept has grown, although it is still not widely understood. This important and novel method has the potential to improve the way that the quantitative phenotypes that underlie common diseases are investigated, so better informing public health interventions that alter the level of the phenotype in order to reduce the risk of disease.4
Katan described how evidence of the effect of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype on cancer risk could be used to test the hypothesis that ‘a naturally low cholesterol favours
 |
Applications of Mendelian randomization to learn about phenotype–disease relationships |
|---|
|
ORK/ IP
|
|---|
|
Developing the concept: from hypothesis testing to Mendelian deconfounding |
|---|
|
The future |
|---|
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  P. R Burton, A. L Hansell, I. Fortier, T. A Manolio, M. J Khoury, J. Little, and P. Elliott Size matters: just how big is BIG?: Quantifying realistic sample size requirements for human genome epidemiology Int. J. Epidemiol., August 25, 2008; (2008) dyn147v2. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. D Tobin, M. Kahonen, P. Braund, T. Nieminen, C. Hajat, M. Tomaszewski, J. Viik, R. Lehtinen, G A. Ng, P. W Macfarlane, et al. Gender and effects of a common genetic variant in the NOS1 regulator NOS1AP on cardiac repolarization in 3761 individuals from two independent populations Int. J. Epidemiol., May 29, 2008; (2008) dyn091v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. M Palmer, J. R Thompson, M. D Tobin, N. A Sheehan, and P. R Burton Adjusting for bias and unmeasured confounding in Mendelian randomization studies with binary responses Int. J. Epidemiol., May 7, 2008; (2008) dyn080v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. D. SMITH Mensuration, Mendel, and a 19th century public health justification for US imperialism Int. J. Epidemiol., August 1, 2006; 35(4): 811 - 813. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. D. Smith, M. Gwinn, S. Ebrahim, L. J Palmer, and M. J Khoury Make it HuGE: human genome epidemiology reviews, population health, and the IJE Int. J. Epidemiol., June 1, 2006; 35(3): 507 - 510. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Nitsch, M. Molokhia, L. Smeeth, B. L. DeStavola, J. C. Whittaker, and D. A. Leon Limits to Causal Inference based on Mendelian Randomization: A Comparison with Randomized Controlled Trials Am. J. Epidemiol., March 1, 2006; 163(5): 397 - 403. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. J. Lewis and G. Davey Smith Alcohol, ALDH2, and Esophageal Cancer: A Meta-analysis Which Illustrates the Potentials and Limitations of a Mendelian Randomization Approach Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., August 1, 2005; 14(8): 1967 - 1971. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Davey Smith and S. Ebrahim What can mendelian randomisation tell us about modifiable behavioural and environmental exposures? BMJ, May 7, 2005; 330(7499): 1076 - 1079. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Davey Smith Genetic epidemiology: an 'enlightened narrative'? Int. J. Epidemiol., October 1, 2004; 33(5): 923 - 924. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. J Khoury, R. Millikan, J. Little, and M. Gwinn The emergence of epidemiology in the genomics age Int. J. Epidemiol., October 1, 2004; 33(5): 936 - 944. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. D. Smith and S. Ebrahim Mendelian randomization: prospects, potentials, and limitations Int. J. Epidemiol., February 1, 2004; 33(1): 30 - 42. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|