Case Control Studies Flashcards
Definition of case control studies
People with disease (cases) are compared to people without the disease (controls) and past exposures are measured
Definition of odds ratio
Diseased and exposed : disease and unexposed
Definition of power
Probability of detecting true effect and not finding a FN/Type II error
Definition of non differential information bias
Errors are distributed evenly between cases and controls
Definition of differential information bias
Difference in follow up completeness between groups
Definition of selection bias
Population used as control must be representative pf the general population
Definition of admission bias
Exposed cases have a different chance of admission than controls. Exposed cases in the study are not representative of all exposed cases
Definition of diagnostic bias
Diagnostic approach related to knowing exposure status
Definition of survival bias
Only survivors of a study are analysed
Definition of non response bias
Controls don’t respond => large difference between those who responded and those who didn’t
Definition of recall bias
Cases remember exposure differently to controls
Definition of interviewer bias
Different questions/questioning styles used by interviewers
Definition of confounding
Alternative explanations for observed exposure outcome association due to another exposure
Definition of population stratification
Presence of systematic differences in allele frequencies between subpopulations in a population
Definition of statistical interaction/effect modification
Association between exposures and outcomes differ according to a 3rd factor
When are case control studies most often used
GWAS
Name the 8 Bradford Hill criteria for causation
What are they?
Strength of association
-Stronger the relationship between IV and DV => increased credibility and less likely to be due to confounding
Consistency (reproducibility)
-Consistency of results in different studies
Specificity
-Causation likely if there is no other explanation
Temporality
-Does cause always precede consequence?
Dose response
-Does increased IV => increased DV
Biological plausibility
-Does it make sense with existing biological knowledge
Coherence
-Compatibility with existing knowledge
Experimental evidence
-If IV altered => does it lead to the corresponding disease outcome
Analogy
-Results due to chance/bias/confounders
Why are reports of associations between genotype and outcome so often inconsistent
5 reasons
Variation of underlying association between genotype and outcome between populations
Heterogenous phenotypes
Confounding by population stratification
Failure to exclude chance as an explanation
Publication bias
What are case control studies
People with disease (cases)
People without disease (controls)
Measure past exposure for both via genes and compare prevalence of exposure in both groups
What are the 3 advantages of case control studies
Inexpensive and quick
Good for rare outcomes and multiple risk factors
Can look at risk factors in detail
What are the 4 disadvantages of case control studies
Not good for rare exposures
Selection bias
Recall bias
No estimate for diseases incidence
In what way must the cases and controls be similar
Describe the ratios between controls and cases
The sample population of controls must be similar to the cases
By increasing the ratio of controls
- increased power
- decreased p
- increased 95% CI
- no chance in OR
By doing so, can compare if controls and cases cary on different risk factors
What are the 6 key features of a case control study
Start with disease/outcome
Retrospective, info obtained from past/is lifelong (genotype)
Can be prospective but takes longer to complete
Observational
No follow ups needed
Suitable for rare diseases, all accessible cases can be located, controls can be found afterwards