Guidelines for performing Mendelian randomization investigations

TLDR

This paper provides guidelines for performing Mendelian randomization investigations, aimed at practitioners, journal editors, and reviewers. The guidelines are organized into nine sections covering motivation, data sources, variant selection, harmonization, primary analysis, sensitivity analyses, data presentation, and interpretation, and will be updated regularly.

Abstract

<ns4:p>This paper provides guidelines for performing Mendelian randomization investigations. It is aimed at practitioners seeking to undertake analyses and write up their findings, and at journal editors and reviewers seeking to assess Mendelian randomization manuscripts. The guidelines are divided into nine sections: motivation and scope, data sources, choice of genetic variants, variant harmonization, primary analysis, supplementary and sensitivity analyses (one section on robust statistical methods and one on other approaches), data presentation, and interpretation. These guidelines will be updated based on feedback from the community and advances in the field. Updates will be made periodically as needed, and at least every 18 months.</ns4:p>