Use of tree-based models to identify subgroups and increase power to detect linkage to cardiovascular disease traits

BACKGROUND: Our goal was to identify subgroups of sib pairs from the Framingham Heart Study data set that provided higher evidence of linkage to particular candidate regions for cardiovascular disease traits. The focus of this method is not to claim identification of significant linkage to a particular locus but to show that tree models can be used to identify subgroups for use in selected sib-pair sampling schemes. RESULTS: We report results using a novel recursive partitioning procedure to identify subgroups of sib pairs with increased evidence of linkage to systolic blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease-related quantitative traits, using the Framingham Heart Study data set provided by the Genetic Analysis Workshop 13. This procedure uses a splitting rule based on Haseman-Elston regression that recursively partitions sib-pair data into homogeneous subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Using this procedure, we identified a subgroup definition for use as a selected sib-pair sampling scheme. Using the characteristics that define the subgroup with higher evidence for linkage, we have identified an area of focus for further study.