Establishing an adjusted p-value threshold to control the family-wide type 1 error in genome wide association studies
2008

Adjusted p-value Thresholds for Genome Wide Association Studies

publication Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Duggal Priya, Gillanders Elizabeth M, Holmes Taura N, Bailey-Wilson Joan E

Primary Institution: National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health

Hypothesis

What is the appropriate method to control the family-wide Type 1 Error in genetic association studies?

Conclusion

The study provides adjusted p-value thresholds that account for the interdependence of SNPs, improving the accuracy of genome-wide association studies.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study reduced the number of effective tests from 500,000 to 67,000 for the Affymetrix SNP panel.
  • Adjusted p-value thresholds were established for both suggestive and significant associations.
  • The proposed method accounts for the interdependence of SNPs, improving the accuracy of significance testing.

Takeaway

This study helps scientists figure out how to better analyze genetic data by using smarter ways to set significance levels, so they don't mistakenly think something is important when it's not.

Methodology

The study estimated the effective number of independent SNPs by analyzing genotype data from the International HapMap project and applying a modified Bonferroni correction.

Potential Biases

The study acknowledges the potential for overcorrection in SNPs that are not truly independent.

Limitations

The proposed thresholds are population-specific and may vary across different genetic backgrounds.

Participant Demographics

The study utilized data from the CEPH Utah (CEU) and Yoruba (YRI) populations.

Statistical Information

P-Value

≈10-5, 10-7, 10-8

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2164-9-516

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