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Global test for high‐dimensional mediation: Testing groups of potential mediators
Author(s) -
Djordjilović Vera,
Page Christian M.,
Gran Jon Michael,
Nøst Therese H.,
Sandanger Torkjel M.,
Veierød Marit B.,
Thoresen Magne
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
statistics in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.996
H-Index - 183
eISSN - 1097-0258
pISSN - 0277-6715
DOI - 10.1002/sim.8199
Subject(s) - false discovery rate , multiple comparisons problem , mediation , computer science , statistical hypothesis testing , test (biology) , outcome (game theory) , intersection (aeronautics) , econometrics , statistics , mathematics , biology , paleontology , biochemistry , mathematical economics , engineering , gene , political science , law , aerospace engineering
We address the problem of testing whether a possibly high‐dimensional vector may act as a mediator between some exposure variable and the outcome of interest. We propose a global test for mediation, which combines a global test with the intersection‐union principle. We discuss theoretical properties of our approach and conduct simulation studies that demonstrate that it performs equally well or better than its competitor. We also propose a multiple testing procedure, ScreenMin, that provides asymptotic control of either familywise error rate or false discovery rate when multiple groups of potential mediators are tested simultaneously. We apply our approach to data from a large Norwegian cohort study, where we look at the hypothesis that smoking increases the risk of lung cancer by modifying the level of DNA methylation.