Genetic instrumental variable studies of effects of prenatal risk factors
- PMID: 23701534
- PMCID: PMC3690512
- DOI: 10.1080/19485565.2013.774615
Genetic instrumental variable studies of effects of prenatal risk factors
Abstract
Identifying the effects of maternal risk factors during pregnancy on infant and child health is an area of tremendous research interest. However, policymakers are primarily interested in unraveling the causal effects of prenatal risk factors, not their associations with child health, which may be confounded by several unobserved factors. In this article, we evaluate the utility of genetic variants in three genes that have unequivocal evidence of being related to three major risk factors-CHRNA3 for smoking, ADH1B for alcohol use, and FTO for obesity-as instrumental variables for identifying the causal effects of such factors during pregnancy. Using two independent datasets, we find that these variants are overall predictive of the risk factors and are not systematically related to observed confounders, suggesting that they may be useful instruments. We also find some suggestive evidence that genetic effects are stronger during than before pregnancy. We provide an empirical example illustrating the use of these genetic variants as instruments to evaluate the effects of risk factors on birth weight. Finally, we offer suggestions for researchers contemplating the use of these variants as instruments.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Candidate gene study for smoking, alcohol use, and body weight in a sample of pregnant women.J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2015 May;28(7):804-11. doi: 10.3109/14767058.2014.932768. Epub 2014 Jul 11. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2015. PMID: 25014319 Free PMC article.
-
Gene-environment interactions related to maternal exposure to environmental and lifestyle-related chemicals during pregnancy and the resulting adverse fetal growth: a review.Environ Health Prev Med. 2022;27:24. doi: 10.1265/ehpm.21-00033. Environ Health Prev Med. 2022. PMID: 35675978 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The association between the FTO gene variant and alcohol consumption and binge and problem drinking in different gene-environment background: The HAPIEE study.Gene. 2019 Jul 30;707:30-35. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2019.05.002. Epub 2019 May 2. Gene. 2019. PMID: 31055022
-
Maternal gestational smoking, diabetes, alcohol drinking, pre-pregnancy obesity and the risk of cryptorchidism: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.PLoS One. 2015 Mar 23;10(3):e0119006. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0119006. eCollection 2015. PLoS One. 2015. PMID: 25798927 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Inverse association of the obesity predisposing FTO rs9939609 genotype with alcohol consumption and risk for alcohol dependence.Addiction. 2011 Apr;106(4):739-48. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03248.x. Epub 2010 Dec 23. Addiction. 2011. PMID: 21182554
Cited by
-
Mendelian randomisation approaches to the study of prenatal exposures: A systematic review.Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2021 Jan;35(1):130-142. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12691. Epub 2020 Aug 11. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2021. PMID: 32779786 Free PMC article. Review.
-
GNB3 and FTO Polymorphisms and Pregnancy Weight Gain in Black Women.Biol Res Nurs. 2015 Jul;17(4):405-12. doi: 10.1177/1099800414561118. Epub 2014 Dec 14. Biol Res Nurs. 2015. PMID: 25510251 Free PMC article.
-
Alcohol Exposure In Utero and Child Academic Achievement.Econ J (London). 2014 May;124(576):634-667. doi: 10.1111/ecoj.12144. Econ J (London). 2014. PMID: 25431500 Free PMC article.
-
Candidate gene study for smoking, alcohol use, and body weight in a sample of pregnant women.J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2015 May;28(7):804-11. doi: 10.3109/14767058.2014.932768. Epub 2014 Jul 11. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2015. PMID: 25014319 Free PMC article.
-
The Impact of Cigarette Quitting during Pregnancy on Other Prenatal Health Behaviors.Rev Econ Househ. 2013 Jun 1;11(2):211-233. doi: 10.1007/s11150-012-9163-8. Rev Econ Househ. 2013. PMID: 23807871 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Angrist Joshua D. Estimations of Limited Dependent Variable Models with Dummy Endogenous Regressors: Simple Strategies for Empirical Practice. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics. 2001;no. 19(1):2–16.
-
- Angrist Joshua D, Imbens Guido W, Rubin Donald B. Identification of Causal Effects Using Instrumental Variables. Journal of the American Statistical Association. 1996;no. 91(434):444–455.
-
- Baker TB, Weiss RB, Bolt D, von Niederhausern A, Fiore MC, Dunn DM, et al. Human neuronal acetylcholine receptor A5-A3-B4 haplotypes are associated with multiple nicotine dependence phenotypes. Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. 2009;no. 11(7):785–796. - PMC - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical