Abstract
To plan a multisite, ischemic stroke genetic study, stroke patients were surveyed about the availability and characteristics of a convenience sample of spouse/friend controls. 65% of all stroke-affected probands reported a living spouse. A more detailed survey was conducted at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., USA: 51% of stroke patients reported a living, stroke-free spouse who would be willing to serve as a control, and 49% reported having a stroke-free friend who would be willing to serve as a control. Overall, 75% of stroke patients reported at least 1 individual willing to participate as a control. Cases without an identified control were more likely to be non-white (48%) than were cases with a control (13%; p = 0.00004). Cases were older than controls (67.3 vs. 59.2 years; p = 0.000002), and a greater proportion of cases than controls were male (57 vs. 33%; p = 0.0002). Without proper attention to matching, the use of a spouse/friend convenience sample would result in imbalances in basic demographic characteristics.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 239-244 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Neuroepidemiology |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2003 |
Keywords
- Case-control study
- Design/methodology
- Genetics
- Ischemic stroke
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Epidemiology
- Clinical Neurology