A Common KIF6 Polymorphism Increases Vulnerability to Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol: Two Meta-Analyses and a Meta-Regres

For simplicity and clarity of presentation, the following refers to the effect modification between two dichotomous exposure variables, A and B, and the risk of a dichotomous outcome (DIS). Extension to continuous variables is straightforward. For the following generalized linear model (logistic regression model) containing an interaction term: Ln(Odds DIS) = constant + ß 1 (A) + ß 2 (B) + ß 3 (A*B) The interpretation of each term in the model is straightforward: e ß1 = OR (A-DIS) B=0 ; is the Odds Ratio (OR) measuring the association between exposure A and the risk of disease (DIS), among persons not exposed to B (B=0) e ß2 = OR (B-DIS) A=0 ; is the OR measuring the association between exposure B and the risk of disease, among persons not exposed to A (A=0) e ß3 = OR (A-B interaction); is the OR for the interaction, or effect modification, between exposures A and B