| Application: | 15825, MR-Base: an online resource for Mendelian randomization using summary data |
| Title: | Alcohol consumption and mate choice in UK Biobank: comparing observational and Mendelian randomization estimates |
| Size: | 628516 B |
| Archived: | 16 Jan 2020 |
| Stability: | Updateable |
| Personal: | Contains individual-level data |
Return 1874
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Notes
Spouse-pairs are known to have similar alcohol behaviour, but this could be for several reasons; spouse-pairs may become more similar over time while cohabitating, individuals who frequent drinking establishments may be more likely to pair-up with similar individuals or other factors such as educational attainment may be assorted on and lead to spousal alcohol use correlation. We aimed to explore these possibilities using genetic variants which influence alcohol metabolism. Our findings of spousal correlations between genetic and phenotypic measures of alcohol consumption suggest that alcohol consumption directly influences mate choice.Application 15825
MR-Base: an online resource for Mendelian randomization using summary data
The aim of our research is to develop an online tool called MR-Base, www.mrbase.org, to facilitate the application of Mendelian randomization using summary data. The objectives are: 1) to collate and harmonize summary association data from a) genome-wide and b) phenome-wide association studies of all traits into a central database; and 2) to automate the Mendelian randomization analysis pipeline. MR-Base will greatly increase the accessibility of Mendelian randomization for a wide body of researchers. Mendelian randomization is an increasingly important tool for appraising causality in observational epidemiology and can be used to prioritise intervention targets for disease prevention. However, the technique requires specialist knowledge and access to very large genetic studies, which makes the approach difficult to implement for most researchers. By systematically collating and harmonizing summary association data into a single database and by automating the analysis pipeline, MR-Base will greatly increase the scope and efficiency of Mendelian randomization for identifying targets for disease prevention. We will test the association of every genetic marker against all traits (e.g. diseases and biomarkers) in UK Biobank (where sample sizes allow). The results from these analyses will be deposited into MR-Base for Mendelian randomization (a technique that uses genetic information to predict the association between exposures and disease). We will also generate correlation statistics amongst all traits in UK Biobank, to be used for comparison with results based on genetic analyses. Using the MR-Base web app, www.mrbase.org, researchers will be able to conduct Mendelian randomization analyses of their exposures and diseases of interest. We require the full cohort as well as all diseases, risk factors and biomarkers.
| Lead investigator: | Dr Philip Haycock |
| Lead institution: | University of Bristol |
1 Publication
| Pub ID | Title | Author(s) | Year | Journal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1743 | Genetic evidence for assortative mating on alcohol consumption in the UK Biobank | Howe LJ et al. | 2019 | Nat Commun |
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