mbmdr: an R package for exploring gene-gene interactions associated with binary or quantitative traits.

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Biostatistics
• Computational Biology

Background:

• Gene-gene interactions are crucial in complex diseases.
• Traditional multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) methods have limitations in defining risk categories.
• Model-based multifactor dimensionality reduction (MB-MDR) offers a more flexible approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce mbmdr, an R package for implementing the MB-MDR method.
• To extend MB-MDR for analyzing gene-gene interactions in association studies.
• To provide a flexible tool for genetic association studies.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of the model-based multifactor dimensionality reduction (MB-MDR) method in R.
• Utilizing regression models to define risk categories, allowing covariate adjustment.
• Extending the methodology to accommodate binary and quantitative traits.

Main Results:

• The mbmdr package enables flexible definition of risk cells, including indeterminate categories.
• The package supports analysis of both binary and quantitative traits.
• It provides an extension to the classical MDR approach for broader applicability.

Conclusions:

• The mbmdr R package facilitates advanced gene-gene interaction analysis.
• It enhances the MB-MDR method by supporting diverse outcome types.
• This tool is valuable for genetic association studies with unrelated individuals.