Fig. 4: Flowchart of Stage 1 genetic analyses.
From: Bidirectional relationship between epigenetic age and stroke, dementia, and late-life depression
Summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression were clumped to identify significant genetic variants, which were then pooled. The pooled variants underwent further clumping to ensure their independence, with palindromic variants excluded. The associations between these genetic instruments and brain health outcomes, as well as epigenetic age, were analyzed in HRS participants. Finally, Mendelian Randomization analyses were performed to estimate the causal effect of brain health events on epigenetic age.
