Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Path Analysis in Genetic Epidemiology: Theory and Applications

  • Chapter
Human Population Genetics

  • 228 Accesses

Abstract

Causal influences on complex phenotypes cannot always be directly observed, but familial influences can be inferred from patterns of interrelationships among a set of variables (i.e., phenotypes observed on different classes of relatives). Path analysis was developed as a method of using structural linear regression analysis to explain the observed interrelationships among variables in the context of a specified model and to determine the impact of hypothesized causal influences on the observed variable (Wright, 1921 1978;Li, 1975).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Blom, G., 1958, “Statistical Estimation and Transformed Beta Variables,” John Wiley & Sons, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boehnke, M., and Lange, K., 1984, Ascertainment and goodness of fit of variance component models for pedigree datain: “Genetic Epidemiology of Coronary Heart Disease: Past, Present, and Future,” D.C. Rao, R.C. Elston, L.H. Kuller, M. Feinleib, C. Carter, and R. Havlik, eds., Alan R. Liss, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Box, A.E.P., and Cox, D.R., 1964, An analysis of transformationsJ. Roy. Statist. Soc. Ser. B26:211–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cannings, C., and Thompson, E.A., 1977, Ascertainment in the sequential sampling of pedigrees.Clin. Genet.12:208–212.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cloninger, C.R., 1980, Interpretation of intrinsic and extrinsic structural relations by path analysis: Theory and applications to assortative matingGenet. Res.36:133–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cloninger, C.R., Rice, J., and Reich, T., 1979, Multifactorial inheritance with cultural transmission and assortative mating. II. A general model of combined polygenic and cultural inheritance.Am. J. Hum. Genet.31:176–198.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cloninger, CR., Rao, D.C., Rice, J., Reich, T., and Morton, N.E., 1983, A defense of path analysis in genetic epidemiologyAm. J. Hum. Genet.35:733–756.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eaves, L.J., Long, J., and Heath, A.C., 1986, A theory of developmental change in quantitative phenotypes applied to cognitive development.Behay. Genet.16:143–162.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, R.A., 1921, On the probable error of a coefficient of correlation deduced from a small sampleMetron1:1–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulker, D.W., 1982, Extensions of the classical twin methodin: “Human Genetics, Part A: The Unfolding Genome,” B. Bonne-Tamir, T. Cohen, and R.M. Goodman, eds., New York, Alan R. Liss.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanis, C.L., and Chakraborty, R., 1984, Nonrandom sampling in human genetics: Familial correlations/MA J. Mathematics Appl. Med. Biol.1:193–213.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, A.C., Kessler, R.C., Neale, M.C., Hewitt, J.K., Eaves, L.J., and Kendler, K.S., 1992, Testing hypotheses about direction-of-causation using cross-sectional family data. (Manuscript in review).

    Google Scholar 

  • Heiss, G., Tamir, I., Davis, C.E., Tyroler, H.A., Rifkind, B.M., Schonfeld, G., Jacobs, D., and Frantz, I.D., 1980, Lipoprotein-cholesterol distributions in selected North American populations: The Lipid Research Clinics Program Prevalence StudyCirculation61:302–315.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hopper, JI., and Mathews, J.D., 1982, Extensions to multivariate normal models for pedigree analysisAnn. Hum. Genet.46:373–383.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lathrop, G.M., Lalouel, J.M., and Jacquard, A., 1984, Path analysis of family resemblance and gene-environment interactionsBiometrics40:611–625.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C.C., 1975, “Path Analysis: A Primer,” Boxwood Press, Pacific Grove, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipid Research Clinics Program Epidemiology Committee, 1979, Plasma lipid distributions in selected North American populations: The Lipid Research Clinics program prevalence studyCirculation60:426–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, C.J., Morton, N.E., Elston, R.C., & Yee, S., 1976, Skewness in commingled distributionsBiometrics32:695–699.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McGue, M., Rao, D.C., Reich, T., Laskarzewski, P., Glueck, C.J, and Russell, J.M., The Cincinnati Lipid Research Clinic family study: Bivariate path analysis of lipoprotein concentrationsGenet. Res.41:117–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGue, M., Rao, D.C., Iselius, L., and Russell, J.M., 1985, Resolution of genetic and cultural inheritance in twin families by path analysisAm. J. Hum. Genet.37:998–1014.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGue, M., Wette, R., and Rao, D.C., 1987, A Monte Carlo evaluation of three statistical methods used in path analysisGenet. Epidemiol .4:129–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, N.E., 1974, Analysis of familial resemblance. I. IntroductionAm. J. Hum. Genet .26:318–330.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Province, M.A., and Rao, D.C., 1985, A new model for the resolution of cultural and biological inheritance in the presence of temporal trends: Application to systolic blood pressureGenet. Epidemiol .2:363–374.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Province, M.A., and Rao, D.C., 1988, Familial aggregation in the presence of temporal trendsStatistics in Medicine7:185–198.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, D.C., Morton, N.E., and Yee, S, 1974, Analysis of family resemblance. II. A linear model for familial correlationAm. J. Hum. Genet .26:767–772.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, D. C., Morton, N.E., and Cloninger, CR., 1979, Path analysis under generalized assortative mating. L TheoryGenet. Res .33:175–188.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, D.C., McGue, M., Wette, R., and Glueck, C.J., 1984, Path analysis in genetic epidemiology, in: “Human Population Genetics: The Pittsburgh Symposium,” A. Chakravarti, ed., Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, D.C., Province, M.A., Wette, R., and Glueck, C. J.,1984, The role of path analysis in coronary heart disease researchin: “Genetic Epidemiology of Coronary Heart Disease: Past, Present, and Future,” D.C. Rao, R.C. Elston, L.H. Kuller, M. Feinleib, C. Carter, and R. Havlik, eds., Alan R. Liss, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rao, D.C., Vogler, G.P., McGue, M., & Russell, J.M., 1987, Maximum likelihood estimation of familial correlations from quantitative data on pedigrees: A general method and examplesAm. J. Hum. Genet .41:1104–1116.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, D.C., and Wette, R., 1987, Nonrandom sampling in genetic epidemiology: Maximum likelihood methods for multifactorial analysis of quantitative dataGenet. Epidemiol .4:357–376.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rao, D.C., Wette, R., and Ewens, W.J., 1988, Multifactorial analysis of family data ascertained through truncation: A comparative evaluation of two methods of statistical inferenceAm. J. Hum. Genet .42:505–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rice, J., Cloninger, CR., and Reich, T., 1978, Multifactorial inheritance with cultural transmission and assortative mating. I. Description and basic properties of the unitary modelsAm. J. Hum. Genet .30:618–643.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sing, C.F., and Moll, P.P., 1990, Genetics of atherosclerosisAnn. Rev. Genet .24:171–187.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vogler, G.P., Rao, D.C., Laskarzewski, P.M., Glueck, C.J., and Russell, J.M., 1987, Multivariate analysis of lipoprotein cholesterol fractionsAm. J. Epidemiol .125:706–719.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, S., 1921, Correlation and causationJ. Agr. Res .20:557–585.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, S., 1978, “Evolution and the Genetics of Populations: Vol. 4. Variability Within and Among Natural Populations,” University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, Box 8067, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

    George P. Vogler & D. C. Rao

Authors
  1. George P. Vogler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. C. Rao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, India

    Partha P. Majumder

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Vogler, G.P., Rao, D.C. (1993). Path Analysis in Genetic Epidemiology: Theory and Applications. In: Majumder, P.P. (eds) Human Population Genetics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2970-5_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-2970-5_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6292-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-2970-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation