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GWASs and polygenic scores inherit all the old problems of heritability estimates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 September 2023

Sahotra Sarkar Open the ORCID record for Sahotra Sarkar [Opens in a new window]
Sahotra Sarkar*
Affiliation:
Departments of Philosophy and Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA sarkar@austin.utexas.edu sahotra-sarkar.org
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Abstract

Polygenic score (PGS) computations assume an additive model of gene action because associations between phenotypes and alleles at different loci are compounded, ignoring interactions between alleles or loci let alone between genotype and environment. Consequently, PGSs are subject to the same objections that invalidated traditional heritability analyses in the 1970s. Thus, PGSs should not be used in the social sciences.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 46 , 2023 , e227
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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