Quantile regression analysis reveals widespread evidence for gene-environment or gene-gene interactions in myopia development

Alfred Pozarickij, Cathy Williams, Pirro G. Hysi, Jeremy A. Guggenheim*, UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)
182 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

A genetic contribution to refractive error has been confirmed by the discovery of more than 150 associated variants in genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Environmental factors such as education and time outdoors also demonstrate strong associations. Currently however, the extent of gene-environment or gene-gene interactions in myopia is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that refractive error-associated variants exhibit effect size heterogeneity, a hallmark feature of genetic interactions. Of 146 variants tested, evidence of non-uniform, non-linear effects were observed for 66 (45%) at Bonferroni-corrected significance (P < 1.1 × 10−4) and 128 (88%) at nominal significance (P < 0.05). LAMA2 variant rs12193446, for example, had an effect size varying from −0.20 diopters (95% CI −0.18 to −0.23) to −0.89 diopters (95% CI −0.71 to −1.07) in different individuals. SNP effects were strongest at the phenotype extremes and weaker in emmetropes. A parsimonious explanation for these findings is that gene-environment or gene-gene interactions in myopia are pervasive.

Original languageEnglish
Article number167 (2019)
Number of pages8
JournalCommunications Biology
Volume2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 May 2019

Keywords

  • refractive error
  • myopia
  • genetics
  • UK Biobank

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Quantile regression analysis reveals widespread evidence for gene-environment or gene-gene interactions in myopia development'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this