Response to Problems in interpreting and using GWAS of conditional phenotypes illustrated by alcohol GWAS

Introduction Introduction Methods Results Discussion References In recent correspondence, Holmes and Davey Smith highlight Problems in interpreting and using GWAS of conditional phenotypes illustrated by alcohol GWAS1. The authors suggest that a negative genetic correlation between BMI and alcohol consumption, which we previously reported in the UK Biobank sample, is spurious2. In regards to the approach we used to run our genome-wide association study (GWAS) of alcohol consumption adjusted for age and weight, the authors state that the negative genetic correlation with BMI was induced by the very nature of their statistical model. We agree that their commentary highlights a potential difficulty in epidemiological research. Conditioning a test of ...