This Article Full Text Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Re, R. N. Articles by Frohlich, E. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Re, R. N. Articles by Frohlich, E. D.

(Hypertension. 1996;28:880.)
© 1996 American Heart Association, Inc.

Articles

Controversies in the Genetic Analysis of Hypertensive Diseases

Richard N. Re, Associate Editor of Hypertension; Edward D. Frohlich, Editor of Hypertension

	Introduction

 
In this issue of Hypertension, an article appears that involved considerable discussion among the reviewers, editors, and statistical consultants.¹ . The article reports an association between the transforming growth factor-ß1 gene and hypertension. The contentious issues result from a meaningful academic statistical argument. If multiple genetic loci are investigated for possible association with a phenotype without an a priori hypothesis, should a correction for repeated comparisons (a la Bonferroni) be carried out? If so, what is the correction? This issue then spilled over into a discussion of association studies as contrasted with linkage studies and the relative roles of each.

After a full exploration of this issue, the editors elected to publish the manuscript and use this opportunity to make the general readership aware of the fact that statistical inferences in this field must be interpreted carefully. Furthermore, the thresholds for statistical significance in genetic studies of polygenic human traits should ideally be agreed upon in advance by the experts in the field itself.

Readers should understand that association analysis and linkage analysis are complementary, each providing its own brand of information. A linkage analysis does not assume any causal association between a phenotype and marker gene, but such causal associations can be rigorously constructed by the study of related markers on the same chromosome. Once candidate genes are identified, it is appropriate to perform association analysis in an attempt to associate the gene and the trait. Each type of study provides different information, but together they can help . . . [Full Text of this Article]

This article has been cited by other articles:

				P. M. Frossard, E. N. Obineche, and G. G. Lestringant Association of an Apolipoprotein B Gene Marker With Essential Hypertension Hypertension, April 1, 1999; 33(4): 1052 - 1056. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Kunz, R. Kreutz, J. Beige, A. Distler, and A. M. Sharma Association Between the Angiotensinogen 235T-Variant and Essential Hypertension in Whites : A Systematic Review and Methodological Appraisal Hypertension, December 1, 1997; 30(6): 1331 - 1337. [Abstract] [Full Text]