We introduce a test for the overall effect of interaction between DNA methylation and a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on a quantitative phenotype. The developed inference procedure is based on a functional approach that extends existing regression models in functional data analysis. Through extensive simulations, we show that the proposed test effectively controls type I error rates and highlights increased empirical power over existing methods, particularly when multiple interactions are present. The use of the proposed test is illustrated with an application to data from obesity patients and controls.

翻译：我们提出了一种检验DNA甲基化与一组单核苷酸多态性（SNPs）对定量表型交互作用整体效应的检验方法。所开发的推断程序基于一种功能方法，扩展了功能数据分析中现有的回归模型。通过大量模拟实验，我们表明所提出的检验方法能有效控制I类错误率，并在存在多重交互作用时，相较于现有方法展现出更高的经验功效。我们通过应用于肥胖症患者与对照组的数据，展示了该检验方法的使用。