Epidemiologic Perspectives & Innovations BioMed Central Methodology

• Main Author: Paul Silcocks
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Greenland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.277.3283

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Odds ratioVarianceRobins-Breslow-GreenlandRBG estimate The Mantel-Haenszel estimate for the odds ratio (and its logarithm) in stratified case control studies lacked a generally acceptable variance estimate for many years. The Robins-Breslow-Greenland estimate has met this need, but standard textbooks still do not provide an explanation of how it is derived. This article provides an accessible derivation which demonstrates the link between the Robins-Breslow-Greenland estimate and the familiar Woolf estimate for the variance of the log odds ratio, and which could easily be included in Masters level courses in epidemiology. The relationships to the unconditional and conditional maximum likelihood estimates are also reviewed.