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Thursday, May 24, 2007

A score test for linkage analysis of ordinal traits based on IBD sharing
Biostatistics Advance Access published online on May 22, 2007





Statistical methods for linkage analysis are well established for both binary and quantitative traits. However, numerous diseases including cancer and psychiatric disorders are rated on discrete ordinal scales.

To analyze pedigree data with ordinal traits, we recently proposed a latent variable model which has higher power to detect linkage using ordinal traits than methods using the dichotomized traits.

We then applied our method for the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism and performed a genome scan to map susceptibility genes for alcohol dependence. We found a strong linkage signal on chromosome 4.

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Reprint Request E-mail: rfeng@ms.soph.uab.edu
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