Race and Genomics

To the Editor: The article on race and genomics by Cooper et al. (March 20 issue)¹ claims that multilocus interactions are “both mathematically and biologically implausible” as risk factors for complex disease. This statement stands in strong opposition to considerable empirical research suggesting that complex phenotypes often exhibit epistasis in diseases such as hypertension, other cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and obesity.^2,3 The data strongly support the presence of complex interactions either in the presence of detectable marginal effects or in their absence.⁴ The many reports cited in recent reviews^3,4 and an understanding of the complexity of biologic processes . . .