Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34426474›Full record

ReviewCold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine2022

Mendelian Randomization: Concepts and Scope.

Rebecca C Richmond, George Davey Smith

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 493 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
493citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

493 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. 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 · 2026
    Pooled it
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  9. Article
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  16. Integrative Analysis Coupled with In Vitro Validation RevealsInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Article
  17. The Genoeconomics of Impulsive Intertemporal Choice: A Critical Review.Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior · 2026
    Review
  18. Article
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433 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Rebecca C RichmondMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, United Kingdom.
George Davey SmithMRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2BN, United Kingdom.

Funding

Medical Research Council MC_UU_00011/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_00011/5
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mendelian randomization (MR) is a method of studying the causal effects of modifiable exposures (i.e., potential risk factors) on health, social, and economic outcomes using genetic variants associated with the specific exposures of interest. MR provides a more robust understanding of the influence of these exposures on outcomes because germline genetic variants are randomly inherited from parents to offspring and, as a result, should not be related to potential confounding factors that influence exposure-outcome associations. The genetic variant can therefore be used as a tool to link the proposed risk factor and outcome, and to estimate this effect with less confounding and bias than conventional epidemiological approaches. We describe the scope of MR, highlighting the range of applications being made possible as genetic data sets and resources become larger and more freely available. We outline the MR approach in detail, covering concepts, assumptions, and estimation methods. We cover some common misconceptions, provide strategies for overcoming violation of assumptions, and discuss future prospects for extending the clinical applicability, methodological innovations, robustness, and generalizability of MR findings.

Indexed as

Mendelian Randomization AnalysisCausalityRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID34426474
PMCPMC8725623

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.