Cross-Trait Phenotyping before Cross-Trait Discovery
Abstract
The boundary between useful assistance and an unsupported claim becomes visible when incompatible phenotypes merged under one label. This literature-based conceptual analysis does not report a new experiment. The primary literature contributes a bounded result: only the supplied bibliographic scope supports discussion here; specific cohorts, variants, effect sizes, datasets, and analysis algorithms remain unverified. Harmonization is a scientific decision about whether variables share meaning. Similar labels can conceal different thresholds, instruments, and observation windows. Retain original definitions alongside harmonized codes. Compare restricted analyses using genuinely comparable measures with broader mappings to quantify the price of harmonization. The proposed comparison concerns hearing definitions, age-related diseases, shared controls; it would test whether the specific failure scenario is detected without erasing legitimate uncertainty. Implications are restricted to the evidence roles relevant to exploratory hearing and age-related genetic synthesis, leaving broader efficacy and deployment claims unresolved.
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