The synergy factor: a statistic to measure interactions in complex diseases.

ABSTRACT:

Background

One challenge in understanding complex diseases lies in revealing the interactions between susceptibility factors, such as genetic polymorphisms and environmental exposures. There is thus a need to examine such interactions explicitly. A corollary is the need for an accessible method of measuring both the size and the significance of interactions, which can be used by non-statisticians and with summarised, e.g. published data. The lack of such a readily available method has contributed to confusion in the field.

Findings

The synergy factor (SF) allows assessment of binary interactions in case-control studies. In this paper we describe its properties and its novel characteristics, e.g. in calculating the power to detect a synergistic effect and in its application t

SUBMITTER: Cortina-Borja M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2706251 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature