Statistical interactions and gene-environment joint effects

Abstract

Statistical interactions and biological interactions are different concepts. Much confusion arises where the former is used to describe the latter, particularly in the exploration of gene-environment interactions. This will be illustrated and the circumstances under which statistical interaction may be legitimately interpreted for gene-environment interactions are presented. What is address, however, has relevance to all circumstances in biomedical research where statistical interaction is to be used and interpreted to infer biological meaning.