Traditional epidemiological studies have identified a number of risk factors for various diseases using regression-based methods that examine the association between an exposure and an outcome (i.e., one-to-one correspondences). One of the major limitations of this approach is the “black-box” aspect of the analysis, in the sense that this approach cannot fully explain complex relationships such as biological pathways. With high-throughput data in current epidemiology, comprehensive analyses are needed. The network approach can help to integrate multi-omics data, visualize their interactions or relationships, and make inferences in the context of biological mechanisms. This review aims to introduce network analysis for systems epidemiology, its procedures, and how to interpret its findings.
Summary
Korean summary
본 리뷰는 시스템역학연구에 활용할 수 있는 네트워크 분석의 간략한 개념과 분석 절차 그리고 결과 해석에 대하여 소개하고 있다. 기존 역학연구의 주요 한계점은 생물학적 기전과 같은 복잡한 관계를 충분히 설명하지 못한다는 것이다. 최근 역학 연구에서 대규모의 오믹스 데이터가 활용 가능하게 됨에 따라 통합적 분석의 필요성이 제기되고 있고, 네트워크 분석 기법이 이런 다중 오믹스 데이터들을 포괄적으로 분석하는데 활용 될 수 있을 것이다.
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