If the genetic variants are not pleiotropic, then the intercept term should tend to zero as the sample size increases, and the MR‐Egger estimate ( θ^UE) and the IVW estimate ( θ^UI) are both consistent estimates of the causal effect. Additionally, if the genetic variants are pleiotropic but the direct effects α (bold symbols represent vectors across the j genetic variants) are independent of the associations of the variants with the risk factor β X (known as the InSIDE assumption—Instrument Strength Independent of Direct Effect), then the MR‐Egger estimate will be a consistent estimate of θ.9, 19
