Methods for Analyzing Multivariate Phenotypes in Genetic Association Studies

Figure 1

Causal diagram showing potential confounding mechanisms for the association between the genotype of a genetic marker 𝐺 and the phenotype 𝑌. The variable 𝐾 denotes the intermediate phenotype, 𝐿 the collection of known environmental and genetic risk factors, and 𝑈 the unknown environmental and genetic risk factors such as population stratification and unknown genetic variants in linkage disequilibrium with 𝐺.