ArticleGenetic epidemiology2016
Consistent Estimation in Mendelian Randomization with Some Invalid Instruments Using a Weighted Median Estimator.
Article in Genetic epidemiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5,458 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5,458 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 9,387 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genome-wide meta-analysis dissects the genetic basis and health implications of circulating taurine.Functional & integrative genomics · 2026Pooled it
- Genetically predicted associations between inflammatory cytokines and juvenile idiopathic arthritis: A Mendelian randomization study.Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Impact of Omega Fatty Acids on DKD: A Multimodal Study Integrating Mendelian Randomization, Proteomic Mediation Analysis, and Meta-Analysis.FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology · 2026Pooled it
- Does illicit drug use increase stroke risk? A systematic review, meta-analyses, and Mendelian randomization analysis.International journal of stroke : official journal of the International Stroke Society · 2026Pooled it
- The mediating effects of plasma proteome on the association between selenium and systemic lupus erythematosus.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Pooled it
- Use of Mendelian Randomization to Unveil Metabolic Markers inJournal of Korean medical science · 2026Pooled it
- Cross-trait analysis reveals shared genetic architecture between mental health and cardiovascular traits.Global medical genetics · 2026Article
- Association between circadian rhythm-related behaviors and breast cancer: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study.Future science OA · 2026Article
- Exploring causal correlations between oily fish intake and multiple sclerosis: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study.Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
- Causal effects of basal metabolic rate and adiposity on obstructive sleep apnea: univariable, multivariable, and bidirectional Mendelian randomization evidence.Future science OA · 2026Article
- Causal links between gut microbiota, plasma metabolites, and insomnia: Insights from Mendelian randomization.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Appraising the causal relationship between kidney function and hearing performance: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.Renal failure · 2026Article
- Association Between Genetically Predicted 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes Risk in South Asians: An Exploratory Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.Endocrinology, diabetes & metabolism · 2026Article
- Metabolomic signatures of brain aging: A multimodal and genetic study.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- Proteomic Pathways Linking Type 2 Diabetes Genetic Clusters to Cardiovascular Diseases: A Network Mendelian Randomisation Study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Article
- Article
- Divergent associations between adiposity and hernia subtypes in European populations: A Mendelian randomization study.Medicine · 2026Article
- Contributions of smoking behaviour to lung cancer subtypes: A two-sample Mendelian randomization study.Medicine · 2026Article
- Article
5,398 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Developments in genome-wide association studies and the increasing availability of summary genetic association data have made application of Mendelian randomization relatively straightforward. However, obtaining reliable results from a Mendelian randomization investigation remains problematic, as the conventional inverse-variance weighted method only gives consistent estimates if all of the genetic variants in the analysis are valid instrumental variables. We present a novel weighted median estimator for combining data on multiple genetic variants into a single causal estimate. This estimator is consistent even when up to 50% of the information comes from invalid instrumental variables. In a simulation analysis, it is shown to have better finite-sample Type 1 error rates than the inverse-variance weighted method, and is complementary to the recently proposed MR-Egger (Mendelian randomization-Egger) regression method. In analyses of the causal effects of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol on coronary artery disease risk, the inverse-variance weighted method suggests a causal effect of both lipid fractions, whereas the weighted median and MR-Egger regression methods suggest a null effect of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol that corresponds with the experimental evidence. Both median-based and MR-Egger regression methods should be considered as sensitivity analyses for Mendelian randomization investigations with multiple genetic variants.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.