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Updated: May 19, 2026

Gene-environment Interaction Models to Unmask Susceptibility Mechanisms in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: January 7, 2014
Twins and the mystery of missing heritability: the contribution of gene-environment interactions
1Department of Public Health, Hjelt Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. jaakko.kaprio@helsinki.fi
Abstract:
Since 2006, the advent of increasingly larger genome-wide association studies and their meta-analyses have led to numerous, replicated findings of genetic polymorphisms associated with many diseases and traits. Early studies suggested that the identified loci generally accounted for a small fraction of the genetic variance estimated from twin and family studies. This led to the concept of 'missing heritability'. Here, the progress in accounting for a greater proportion of the variance is reviewed. In particular, gene-environment interactions can, for some traits and in certain circumstances, explain part of this missing heritability.
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