Meta-Analysis for Epigenome-Wide Association Studies.

With the rapid development of methylation profiling technology, many datasets are generated to quantify genome-wide methylation patterns. Given the heavy burden of multiple testing of hundreds of thousands of DNA methylation markers, individual studies often have limited sample sizes and power. The EWAS meta-analysis is an approach that combines results from multiple studies on the same scientific question. It helps to improve statistical power by combining information from individual studies and reduce the chances of false positives. This chapter introduces commonly used meta-analysis methods and analytical tools with application to EWAS data.