Assessment of SNP-SNP interactions by using square contingency table analysis

Abstract The evolution of SNP-SNP interactions has become an interesting field in genetic epidemiology. Most of the studies, aimed to analyze the relationship between genetic factors and disease of interest, are focused on single SNP associations. However, for quantitative traits, influenced by the interplay of environmental and more than one genetic factors, interaction between the multi factors should be taken into consideration. In this study, symmetry models for square contingency tables are applied to the cross-classified SNP-SNP interactions data. Results from a genome-wide association analysis of blood pressure are used as a prior evidence for the interacted SNPs.