Required sample size and nonreplicability thresholds for heterogeneous genetic associations.

ABSTRACT: Many gene-disease associations proposed to date have not been consistently replicated across different populations. Nonreplication often reflects false positives in the original claims. However, occasionally, nonreplication may be due to heterogeneity due to biases or even genuine diversity of the genetic effects in different populations. Here, we propose methods for estimating the required sample size to replicate an association across many studies with different amounts of between-study heterogeneity, when data are summarized through metaanalysis. We demonstrate thresholds of between-study heterogeneity (tau(0)(2)) above which one cannot reach adequate power to replicate a proposed association at a specified level of statistical significance when k studies are performed (regardless of ho

SUBMITTER: Moonesinghe R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2206585 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature