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Common referent versus shifting referent methods when using case-control data to examine patterns of incidence across
Garth H Rauscher1, Charles Poole
1Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL, USA. garthr@uic.edu
Annals of Epidemiology
|August 10, 2006
Summary
Common referent odds ratios accurately reflect population incidence trends in case-control studies. Shifting referent methods, however, do not provide this accurate reflection of incidence patterns.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Biostatistics
Background:
- Case-control studies are frequently used in epidemiology to investigate disease etiology.
- Odds ratios are often used to estimate risk or rate ratios in these studies.
- Interpreting trends in odds ratios requires careful consideration of the methods used for calculation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the "common referent" and "shifting referent" methods for calculating odds ratios in case-control studies.
- To determine which method better reflects trends in population incidence when estimating rate or risk ratios.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of two methods: "common referent" and "shifting referent" for odds ratio calculation.
- Utilized an empirical example and hypothetical data for analysis.
- Examined scenarios with a single ordinal "trend" variable and a dichotomous "stratification" variable.
Main Results:
- Common referent methods construct a single independent variable from the joint distribution of all exposure variables.
- Shifting referent methods assign a unique referent to each stratum-specific trend.
- Odds ratios calculated using common referent methods reflect underlying population incidence trends.
Conclusions:
- Common referent odds ratios provide a valid reflection of population incidence trends.
- Shifting referent odds ratios do not accurately represent population incidence patterns.
- The choice of referent method is critical for accurate interpretation of odds ratios in case-control studies.
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