Analysis of epidemiologic studies of genetic effects and gene-environment interactions

This chapter describes basic principles in study design, data analysis, and interpretation of epidemiological studies of genetic polymorphisms and disease risk, including the assessment of gene-environment interactions. The case-control design (hospital-based, population-based or nested within a prospective cohort) is frequently used to study common genetic variants and disease risk. Because of their widespread use, the analysis of case-control data will be the focus of this chapter. Two key considerations in the study design will be addressed: the selection of genetic markers to be evaluated, and sample size considerations to ensure adequate power to detect associations with disease risk. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are the most frequent form of common genetic variation, thus the discussion on data analysis will be based on the evaluation of associations between SNPs and disease risk. This chapter will begin with the evaluation of quality control of genotyping data, which is a critical first step in the analysis of genetic data. A description of statistical methods will follow, aimed at the discovery of genetic susceptibility loci, including analysis of candidate SNPs and genome-wide association studies, haplotype analyses, and the evaluation of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions.