Validity and power of association testing in family-based sampling designs: evidence for and against the common wisdom.

ABSTRACT: Current common wisdom posits that association analyses using family-based designs have inflated type 1 error rates (if relationships are ignored) and independent controls are more powerful than familial controls. We explore these suppositions. We show theoretically that family-based designs can have deflated type-error rates. Through simulation, we examine the validity and power of family designs for several scenarios: cases from randomly or selectively ascertained pedigrees; and familial or independent controls. Family structures considered are as follows: sibships, nuclear families, moderate-sized and extended pedigrees. Three methods were considered with the χ(2) test for trend: variance correction (VC), weighted (weights assigned to account for genetic similarity), and naïve (ignoring

SUBMITTER: Knight S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3055958 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature