TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic correlations of polygenic disease traits: from theory to practice
AU - van Rheenen, Wouter
AU - Peyrot, Wouter J.
AU - Schork, Andrew J.
AU - Lee, S. Hong
AU - Wray, Naomi R.
PY - 2019/10/1
Y1 - 2019/10/1
N2 - The genetic correlation describes the genetic relationship between two traits and can contribute to a better understanding of the shared biological pathways and/or the causality relationships between them. The rarity of large family cohorts with recorded instances of two traits, particularly disease traits, has made it difficult to estimate genetic correlations using traditional epidemiological approaches. However, advances in genomic methodologies, such as genome-wide association studies, and widespread sharing of data now allow genetic correlations to be estimated for virtually any trait pair. Here, we review the definition, estimation, interpretation and uses of genetic correlations, with a focus on applications to human disease.
AB - The genetic correlation describes the genetic relationship between two traits and can contribute to a better understanding of the shared biological pathways and/or the causality relationships between them. The rarity of large family cohorts with recorded instances of two traits, particularly disease traits, has made it difficult to estimate genetic correlations using traditional epidemiological approaches. However, advances in genomic methodologies, such as genome-wide association studies, and widespread sharing of data now allow genetic correlations to be estimated for virtually any trait pair. Here, we review the definition, estimation, interpretation and uses of genetic correlations, with a focus on applications to human disease.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85067010065&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31171865
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067010065&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41576-019-0137-z
DO - 10.1038/s41576-019-0137-z
M3 - Review article
C2 - 31171865
VL - 20
SP - 567
EP - 581
JO - Nature Reviews Genetics
JF - Nature Reviews Genetics
SN - 1471-0056
IS - 10
ER -