Comments on: Rule no. 1: Correlation is not Causation http://www.dna-dude.com/2009/12/correlation-is-not-causation/ All about your stringy bits. Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:18:05 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Dr. Rick http://www.dna-dude.com/2009/12/correlation-is-not-causation/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Dr. Rick Sat, 26 Dec 2009 23:12:52 +0000 http://www.dna-dude.com/?p=89#comment-8 Hi Adi, Thanks for responding to my article. You can indeed use inheritance to <em>infer</em> something about the underlying genetic causes of a disease. The problem is with mental health, when the environmental factors are so great and so important, special consideration needs to be taken to distinguish genetic from environmental causes. That was not the focus of either of these papers. Hopefully I will get a chance to expand on the genetics of mental health in the future. Stay tuned. Dr. Rick Hi Adi,

Thanks for responding to my article.

You can indeed use inheritance to infer something about the underlying genetic causes of a disease. The problem is with mental health, when the environmental factors are so great and so important, special consideration needs to be taken to distinguish genetic from environmental causes. That was not the focus of either of these papers.

Hopefully I will get a chance to expand on the genetics of mental health in the future.

Stay tuned.

Dr. Rick

]]> By: Adi Jaffe http://www.dna-dude.com/2009/12/correlation-is-not-causation/comment-page-1/#comment-7 Adi Jaffe Sat, 26 Dec 2009 07:21:03 +0000 http://www.dna-dude.com/?p=89#comment-7 Hmmm... Just looked at my post and the "all" was already gone. Less work for me. Hmmm… Just looked at my post and the “all” was already gone. Less work for me.

]]> By: Adi Jaffe http://www.dna-dude.com/2009/12/correlation-is-not-causation/comment-page-1/#comment-6 Adi Jaffe Sat, 26 Dec 2009 07:17:17 +0000 http://www.dna-dude.com/?p=89#comment-6 Dear Dr. Rick, first of all, thank you for reading my post. I have to agree with you that using "all" in the title was a poor editorial choice. I'll most likely remove it. Still, it seems that you're suggesting that unless genotyping takes place in a study, no assertions regarding underlying genetic heritability can be made, an assertion with which I have to disagree. Association studies are commonly used to uncover genetic association though, as you stated, association does not mean causation. I agree with this statement so much, I actually wrote my own article on it at <a href="http://www.allaboutaddiction.com/correlation-causation-and-association-what-does-it-all-mean/" title="Correlation," rel="nofollow"> I hope you get a chance to check it out. All in all, I'm more than happy to have an informed discussion on the topic and welcome any additional comments you may have on any of my articles. All the best, Adi Dear Dr. Rick,
first of all, thank you for reading my post. I have to agree with you that using “all” in the title was a poor editorial choice. I’ll most likely remove it. Still, it seems that you’re suggesting that unless genotyping takes place in a study, no assertions regarding underlying genetic heritability can be made, an assertion with which I have to disagree. Association studies are commonly used to uncover genetic association though, as you stated, association does not mean causation.
I agree with this statement so much, I actually wrote my own article on it at I hope you get a chance to check it out.

All in all, I’m more than happy to have an informed discussion on the topic and welcome any additional comments you may have on any of my articles.

All the best,
Adi

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