Use of Mendelian Randomization to Examine Causal Inference in Osteoporosis.Epidemiological studies have identified many risk factors for osteoporosis, however it is unclear whether these observational associations reflect true causal effects, or the effects of latent confounding or reverse causality.  Mendelian randomization (MR) enables causal relationships to be evaluated, by examining the relationship between genetic susceptibility to the risk factor in question, and the disease outcome of interest. 
Mendelian Randomization
This has been facilitated by the development of two-sample MR analysis, where the exposure and outcome are measured in different studies, and by exploiting summary result statistics from large well-powered genome-wide association studies that are available for thousands of traits. 
MR analysis
This has been facilitated by the development of two-sample MR analysis, where the exposure and outcome are measured in different studies, and by exploiting summary result statistics from large well-powered genome-wide association studies that are available for thousands of traits. 
genome-wide association studies