ArticleeLife2019
Polygenic adaptation on height is overestimated due to uncorrected stratification in genome-wide association studies.
Article in eLife, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 259 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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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.
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Who cites it
259 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Genome-wide association analysis using multiple Atlantic salmon populations.Genetics, selection, evolution : GSE · 2025Pooled it
- Population genetic considerations for using biobanks as international resources in the pandemic era and beyond.BMC genomics · 2021Pooled it
- Ancient DNA and Human Physiology.Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Genomic insights into natural selection in recent human history.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
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- Reporting and representation of population descriptors in public RNA-seq databases.Cell genomics · 2026Article
- Host Genetic Regulation of NLRP3 Inflammasome Cytokines Reveals Immune and Vascular Pathways in HIV.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Extending genome-wide association studies to admixed cohorts with high degrees of relatedness.Nature genetics · 2026Article
- Evidence standards for multi-ancestry polygenic prediction.Genome biology · 2026Review
- Separating direct, indirect, and parent-of-origin genetic effects in the human population.Cell genomics · 2026Article
- Estimation of direct and indirect polygenic effects and gene-environment interactions using polygenic scores in case-parent trio studies.Nature genetics · 2026Article
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- Region-specific cortico-striatal transcriptomic remodeling following early postnatal dopaminergic disturbance.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Genomic-Relatedness Matching Expands Population Coverage, Improves Power, and Reduces Bias in Genetic Association Analyses.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Estimating uncertainty in family-based GWAS.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Observational epidemiological studies can mitigate genetic confounding with a genetic relatedness matrix.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Quantifying direct genetic signal captured by principal component adjustment.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Insights into human adaptation from ancient DNA.Nature genetics · 2026Review
- Ancestral diversity in complex disease genetics: from discovery to translation.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
199 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Genetic predictions of height differ among human populations and these differences have been interpreted as evidence of polygenic adaptation. These differences were first detected using SNPs genome-wide significantly associated with height, and shown to grow stronger when large numbers of sub-significant SNPs were included, leading to excitement about the prospect of analyzing large fractions of the genome to detect polygenic adaptation for multiple traits. Previous studies of height have been based on SNP effect size measurements in the GIANT Consortium meta-analysis. Here we repeat the analyses in the UK Biobank, a much more homogeneously designed study. We show that polygenic adaptation signals based on large numbers of SNPs below genome-wide significance are extremely sensitive to biases due to uncorrected population stratification. More generally, our results imply that typical constructions of polygenic scores are sensitive to population stratification and that population-level differences should be interpreted with caution. Editorial note: This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that all the issues have been addressed (see decision letter).
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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.