what is the difference between GWAS (genome-wide association study) and PheWAS (phenome-wide association study)?
In: Biology
A GWAS takes people with a given disease or trait, looks at their DNA, and identifies shared similarities. The purpose is to identify DNA variants that may cause the given trait or disease.
A PheWAS takes people with a given DNA variant, and looks for recurring diseases or other traits. The purpose is to identify the traits or disease that result from a known generic variant.
So one (GWAS) starts with the trait and looks for the DNA. The other (PheWAS) starts with the DNA and looks for any traits.
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