Selection bias in case-control studies using relatives as the controls.
Investigators have suggested using relatives of cases as the control group when studying complex diseases thought to have a major genetic component. However, there is a concern about possible bias and we developed a model to examine the possibility of bias in the selection of relatives as the control group. Assuming the exposure-specific risks of disease remain constant over time, the results indicate that even when there is a correlation in the exposure status among relatives, selection of controls from relatives of cases does not, of itself, introduce bias in the estimate of effect.
Goldstein
A M
AM
Division of Epidemiology, UCLA School of Public Health 90024.
Hodge
S E
SE
Haile
R W
RW
D015982:Bias; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D006801:Humans; D008957:Models, Genetic; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015983:Selection Bias; D012801:Sibling Relations