Strengthening the reporting of genetic association studies (STREGA)—an extension of the strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement

• Published in: Journal of clinical epidemiology 2009-06, Vol.62 (6), p.597-608.e4
• Main Authors: Little, Julian, Higgins, Julian P.T, Ioannidis, John P.A, Moher, David, Gagnon, France, von Elm, Erik, Khoury, Muin J, Cohen, Barbara, Davey-Smith, George, Grimshaw, Jeremy, Scheet, Paul, Gwinn, Marta, Williamson, Robin E, Zou, Guang Yong, Hutchings, Kim, Johnson, Candice Y, Tait, Valerie, Wiens, Miriam, Golding, Jean, van Duijn, Cornelia, McLaughlin, John, Paterson, Andrew, Wells, George, Fortier, Isabel, Freedman, Matthew, Zecevic, Maja, King, Richard, Infante-Rivard, Claire, Stewart, Alex F, Birkett, Nick
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bias; Biological and medical sciences; Check lists; Cohort analysis; Cross-sectional studies; Epidemiology; Epidemiology - standards; General aspects; Genetic Research; Genetics; Genetics, Population - methods; Gene–disease associations; Gene–environment interaction; Genome-wide association; Genome-Wide Association Study; Genomics - statistics & numerical data; Genotype & phenotype; Guidelines as Topic; Humans; Internal Medicine; Medical sciences; Meta-analysis; Miscellaneous; Missing data; Observational studies; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Publishing - standards; Reporting recommendations; Research - standards; Scandals; Statistical methods; Systematic review; Variables
• ISSN: 0895-4356; 1878-5921
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2008.12.004

Abstract Making sense of rapidly evolving evidence on genetic associations is crucial to making genuine advances in human genomics and the eventual integration of this information in the practice of medicine and public health. Assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of this evidence, and hence, the ability to synthesize it, has been limited by inadequate reporting of results. The STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Association (STREGA) studies initiative builds on the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement and provides additions to 12 of the 22 items on the STROBE checklist. The additions concern population stratification, genotyping errors, modeling haplotype variation, Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, replication, selection of participants, rationale for choice of genes and variants, treatment effects in studying quantitative traits, statistical methods, relatedness, reporting of descriptive and outcome data, and the volume of data issues that are important to consider in genetic association studies. The STREGA recommendations do not prescribe or dictate how a genetic association study should be designed, but seek to enhance the transparency of its reporting, regardless of choices made during design, conduct, or analysis.