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Taking cardiovascular genetic association studies to the next level.

Ginsburg GS, Shah SH, McCarthy JJ

Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. geoffrey.ginsburg@duke.edu

Genetic information is beginning to have a direct impact on patient care and it is important that cardiologists appreciate the value and approaches to associating genetic variation and health outcomes. Genetic associations should be based on compelling genetic and biological hypotheses and should be statistically sound so as to reduce the possibility of "false discovery" in the setting of testing multiple hypotheses. Study designs should clearly define cases and controls and measurement of phenotypes. Finally, findings should be replicated in at least 1 independent cohort. Consideration of these principles should provide insight into disease biology based on genetic findings and encourage their meaningful adoption into clinical practice.

Published 3 September 2007 in J Am Coll Cardiol, 50(10): 930-2.
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