Migration can increase regional differences in both DNA variants and environmental factors that are associated with socio-economic status. Without controlling for geography, associations between genes and complex traits will therefore include effects of environmental differences between high-income and low-income regions.
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References
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This is a summary of: Abdellaoui, A., Dolan, C. V., Verweij, K. J. H. & Nivard, M. G. Gene–environment correlations across geographic regions affect genome-wide association studies. Nat. Genet. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01158-0 (2022).
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Genes influence complex traits through environments that vary between geographic regions. Nat Genet 54, 1265–1266 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01163-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01163-3
