Spouses and unrelated friends of probands as controls for stroke genetics studies.
To plan a multisite, ischemic stroke genetic study, stroke patients were surveyed about the availability and characteristics of a convenience sample of spouse/friend controls. 65% of all stroke-affected probands reported a living spouse. A more detailed survey was conducted at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., USA: 51% of stroke patients reported a living, stroke-free spouse who would be willing to serve as a control, and 49% reported having a stroke-free friend who would be willing to serve as a control. Overall, 75% of stroke patients reported at least 1 individual willing to participate as a control. Cases without an identified control were more likely to be non-white (48%) than were cases with a control (13%; p = 0.00004). Cases were older than controls (67.3 vs. 59.2 years; p = 0.000002), and a greater proportion of cases than controls were male (57 vs. 33%; p = 0.0002). Without proper attention to matching, the use of a spouse/friend convenience sample would result in imbalances in basic demographic characteristics.
Worrall
Bradford Burke
BB
Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Brown
Devin L
DL
Brott
Thomas G
TG
Brown
Robert D
RD
Silliman
Scott L
SL
Meschia
James F
JF
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D035061:Control Groups; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018454:Spouses; D020521:Stroke / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*