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Published in: European Journal of Epidemiology 3/2021

01-03-2021 | Polycystic Ovary Syndrome | COMMENTARY

Are Mendelian randomization investigations immune from bias due to reverse causation?

Authors: Stephen Burgess, Sonja A Swanson, Jeremy A Labrecque

Published in: European Journal of Epidemiology | Issue 3/2021

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Excerpt

Mendelian randomization uses genetic variants as instrumental variables to make causal inferences about the effect of a risk factor on an outcome [1, 2]. If a genetic variant satisfies the instrumental variable assumptions for the given risk factor and outcome [3], then an association between the genetic variant and the outcome implies the risk factor affects the outcome in some individuals at some point in the life-course [4]. Combining the instrumental variable assumptions with further assumptions and precise specification of the outcome (including specifying a time period for the outcome) allows valid testing of a more specific causal hypothesis and/or valid estimation of global or local, and point or period average causal effects [5]. …
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Metadata
Title
Are Mendelian randomization investigations immune from bias due to reverse causation?
Authors
Stephen Burgess
Sonja A Swanson
Jeremy A Labrecque
Publication date
01-03-2021
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
European Journal of Epidemiology / Issue 3/2021
Print ISSN: 0393-2990
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7284
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-021-00726-8

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