The Next Step Forward Is to Take a Step Back

摘要

Understanding the causes of diabetes is at the heart of most diabetes research. The field of causal inference has made dramatic advances in methodology that allows for causal inference from observational and not experimental data. One such methodological advancement is the use of genetic markers as instrumental variables, or so-called Mendelian randomization (MR). MR relies on the laws governing genetic inheritance to gain insights into a modifiable risk factor's causal effect on a disease through the use of genotype to address potential confounding or reverse causation.