NESTED CASE-CONTROL STUDIES

The nested case-control study design (or the case-control in a cohort study) is described here and compared with other designs, including th e classic case-control and cohort studies and the case-cohort study. I n the nested case-control study, cases of a disease that occur in a de fined cohort are identified and, for each, a specified number of match ed controls is selected from among those in the cohort who have not de veloped the disease by the time of disease occurrence in the case. For many research questions, the nested case-control design potentially o ffers impressive reductions in costs and efforts of data collection an d analysis compared with the full cohort approach, with relatively min or loss in statistical efficiency. The nested case-control design is p articularly advantageous for studies of biologic precursors of disease . To advance its prevention research agenda, NIH might be encouraged t o maintain a registry of new and existing cohorts, with an inventory o f data collected for each; to foster the development of specimen banks ; and to serve as a clearinghouse for information about optimal storag e conditions for various types of specimens. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.