Approaches to mapping genetically correlated complex traits

Our Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods were used in linkage analyses of the Framingham Heart Study data using all available pedigrees. Our goal was to detect and map loci associated with covariate-adjusted traits log triglyceride (lnTG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) using multipoint LOD score analysis, Bayesian oligogenic linkage analysis and identity-by-descent (IBD) scoring methods. Each method used all marker data for all markers on a chromosome. Bayesian linkage analysis detected a linkage signal on chromosome 7 for lnTG and HDL, corroborating previously published results. However, these results were not replicated in a classical linkage analysis of the data or by using IBD scoring methods. We conclude that Bayesian linkage analysis provides a powerful paradigm for mapping trait loci but interpretation of the Bayesian linkage signals is subjective. In the absence of a LOD score method accommodating genetically complex traits and linkage heterogeneity, validation of these signals remains elusive.