Future studies might seek to find causalities between variables, for example using structural equation modeling, Bayes Nets or non-linear/non-Gaussian methods46. The dangers of inferring causalities from observational datasets like UK Biobank are well-known; the inclusion of genotype and other “instrumental” measures enable analyses such as Mendelian randomization, although important caveats must be considered42. The safest way to confirm causal results discovered from such observational datasets is to use such results to form hypotheses for new focused interventional studies.
