Genetic and environmental correlations between complex phenotypes differ by race/ethnicity and sex

Abstract

We developed novel closed-form estimators of genetic and environmental correlation coefficients. We applied them to estimate over 4,000 genetic and environmental correlations between multiple phenotypes in a diverse sample from the Trans-Omics in Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. We found substantial differences in heritabilities, genetic, and environmental correlations of multiple phenotypes and phenotype-pairs between Black, Hispanic/Latino and White populations as well as between sexes. Finally, we quantified genetic and environmental correlations between phenotypic domains, each characterized by multiple phenotypes. Altogether we provide a novel, in-depth framework for examining relations among complex human phenotypes and their determinants.