Providing context and interpretability to genetic association analysis results using the KGraph

Abstract

The KGraph is a data visualization system that has been developed to display the complex relationships between the univariate and bivariate associations among an outcome of interest, a set of covariates, and a set of genetic variations such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). It allows for easy simultaneous viewing and interpretation of genetic associations, correlations among covariates and SNPs, and information about the replication and cross-validation of these associations. The KGraph allows the user to more easily investigate multicollinearity and confounding through visualization of the multidimensional correlation structure underlying genetic associations. It emphasizes gene-environment interactions, gene-gene interactions, and correlations, all important components of the complex genetic architecture of most human traits. The KGraph was designed for use in gene-centric studies, but can be integrated into association analysis workflows as well. The software is available at http://www.epidkardia.sph.umich.edu/software/kgrapher.