title: An estimating function approach to linkage heterogeneity.
abstract: Testing linkage heterogeneity between two loci is an important issue in genetics. Currently, there are four methods (K-test, A-test, B-test and D-test) for testing linkage heterogeneity in linkage analysis, which are based on the likelihood-ratio test. Among them, the commonly used methods are the K-test and A-test. In this paper, we present a novel test method which is different from the above four tests, called G-test. The new test statistic is based on estimating function, possessing a theoretic asymptotic distribution, and therefore demonstrates its own advantages. The proposed test is applied to analyse a real pedigree dataset. Our simulation results also indicate that the G-test performs well in terms of power of testing linkage heterogeneity and outperforms the current methods to some degree.
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, School of Mathematical Sciences, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, People's Republic of China. yzhou@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Weijun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Haidong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Linan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D018740:Genetic Heterogeneity; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D056426:Genetic Loci; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008957:Models, Genetic; D010375:Pedigree
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers