Tests of effect in 1: J matched case-control studies based on a modified likelihood approach

Abstract

A test of an effect in matched case-control studies, natural in an analysis of variance context, compares within matched set case-control mean differences to the within matched set variances after removing the case-control effect. For large odds ratios, heuristic reasoning suggests that this new test should be more powerful than the standard score test when two or more controls are matched to any case. Asymptotic theory confirms this in some important situations. Simulation results reveal, however, that the differences in power at sample sizes relevant to epidemiological studies are small.