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Network Mendelian randomization: using genetic variants as instrumental variables to investigate mediation in causal pathways

Burgess, Stephen, Daniel, Rhian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5649-9320, Butterworth, Adam S., Thompson, Simon G. and the EPIC-InterAct Consortium 2015. Network Mendelian randomization: using genetic variants as instrumental variables to investigate mediation in causal pathways. International Journal of Epidemiology 44 (2) , pp. 484-495. 10.1093/ije/dyu176

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Abstract

Background: Mendelian randomization uses genetic variants, assumed to be instrumental variables for a particular exposure, to estimate the causal effect of that exposure on an outcome. If the instrumental variable criteria are satisfied, the resulting estimator is consistent even in the presence of unmeasured confounding and reverse causation. Methods: We extend the Mendelian randomization paradigm to investigate more complex networks of relationships between variables, in particular where some of the effect of an exposure on the outcome may operate through an intermediate variable (a mediator). If instrumental variables for the exposure and mediator are available, direct and indirect effects of the exposure on the outcome can be estimated, for example using either a regression-based method or structural equation models. The direction of effect between the exposure and a possible mediator can also be assessed. Methods are illustrated in an applied example considering causal relationships between body mass index, C-reactive protein and uric acid. Results: These estimators are consistent in the presence of unmeasured confounding if, in addition to the instrumental variable assumptions, the effects of both the exposure on the mediator and the mediator on the outcome are homogeneous across individuals and linear without interactions. Nevertheless, a simulation study demonstrates that even considerable heterogeneity in these effects does not lead to bias in the estimates. Conclusions: These methods can be used to estimate direct and indirect causal effects in a mediation setting, and have potential for the investigation of more complex networks between multiple interrelated exposures and disease outcomes.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Medicine
Subjects: R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Uncontrolled Keywords: Mendelian randomization; Mediation; Instrumental variable; Direct effect; Indirect effect
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISSN: 0300-5771
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 14 November 2017
Date of Acceptance: 6 August 2014
Last Modified: 04 May 2023 01:59
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/106050

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