Author Correction: Testing the key assumption of heritability estimates based on genome-wide genetic relatedness

J Hum Genet. 2019 Jun;64(6):597-598. doi: 10.1038/s10038-019-0593-5. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Abstract

In the original paper, we used the variable "URBRUR08," from the 2008 survey wave as a measure of childhood urbanicity. Upon further investigation we realized that this variable actually measured Beale urban-rural code during the respondent's adulthood. Thus, we reran our analysis of the pseudo-heritability of childhood urbanicity using the variable. The original results hold such that even with the first 20 principal components held constant, childhood urban-rural status appears to be ~20% "heritable" in GREML models-a figure that is actually higher than the original estimate reported in the paper (14% controlling for 25 PCs, 15% controlling for 10 PCs, and 29% controlling for two PCs). Meanwhile, the heritabilities of the other phenotypes-height, BMI and education-still do not change when they are residualized on childhood urbanicity. In other words, the original results of the paper do not change.

Publication types

  • Published Erratum