The use and misuse of matching in case-control studies: the example of polycystic ovary syndrome.
Matching control selection strategies are often used in polycystic ovary syndrome case-control studies; however, they are infrequently used in an appropriate fashion. When properly applied, matching may offer improved study precision, but this is highly contingent on the causal pathway under consideration, strength of the associations between the matching variable and both the risk factor of interest and polycystic ovary syndrome, and the use of an appropriate stratified data analysis.
Bloom
Michael S
MS
Epidemiology Branch, Division of Epidemiology Statistics and Prevention Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Schisterman
Enrique F
EF
Hediger
Mary L
ML
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications; D018579:Patient Selection; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results