G = E: What GWAS Can Tell Us about the Environment |
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| Authors: | Suzanne H. Gage George Davey Smith Jennifer J. Ware Jonathan Flint Marcus R. Munafò |
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| Affiliation: | 1. MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) at the University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom;2. UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom;3. School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom;4. Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom;Georgia Institute of Technology, UNITED STATES |
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| Abstract: | As our understanding of genetics has improved, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous variants associated with lifestyle behaviours and health outcomes. However, what is sometimes overlooked is the possibility that genetic variants identified in GWAS of disease might reflect the effect of modifiable risk factors as well as direct genetic effects. We discuss this possibility with illustrative examples from tobacco and alcohol research, in which genetic variants that predict behavioural phenotypes have been seen in GWAS of diseases known to be causally related to these behaviours. This consideration has implications for the interpretation of GWAS findings. |
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