Using affected sibling pairs to distinguish the direct effect of a susceptibility gene and the indirect effect of linkage disequilibrium

A positive result for a transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) can occur for two reasons: a) the allele itself is a cause of disease predisposition (direct effect); or b) the allele is in linkage disequilibrium with a disease-causing gene (indirect effect). A test was proposed based on affected sibling pairs (ASPs) to distinguish between the two. Simulation showed that the test has the correct type I error rate and favourable power (power >50% for 50 ASPs; >75% for 100 ASPs; >85% for 150 ASPs). Making this distinction is important for setting the direction for subsequent studies following a positive TDT result. ? University College London 2003.