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Simple formulas for gauging the potential impacts of population stratification bias
1Research Center for Genes, Environment and Human Health and the Graduate Institute of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. wenchung@ntu.edu.tw
Abstract:
The case-control study design is popular for genetic association studies of complex human diseases. However, case-control studies may suffer from bias due to population stratification. In this paper, the authors present simple formulas that can set a limit to the havoc population stratification bias can wreak (the lower and upper bounds of the confounding rate ratio and the upper bound of the type I error rate). The authors demonstrate applications of these formulas using two examples. The formulas can help researchers make more prudent interpretations of their (potentially biased) results.
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