This paper proposes a new estimator of the variance of the Mantel-Haenszel estimator of common odds ratio that is easily computed and consistent in both sparse data and large-strata limiting models. Monte Carlo experiments compare its performance to that of previously proposed variance estimators.

In meta-analysis of odds ratios (ORs), heterogeneity between the studies is usually modelled via the additive random effects model (REM). An alternative, multiplicative REM for ORs uses overdispersion. The multiplicative factor in this overdispersion model (ODM) can be interpreted as an intra-class correlation (ICC) parameter. This model naturally arises when the probabilities of an event in on...

OBJECTIVES To measure the strength of agreement between the concepts and records retrieved from a computerized patient database, in response to physician-derived questions, using a semantic terminological model for clinical findings with those concepts and records excerpted clinically by manual identification. The performance of the semantic terminological model is also compared with the more e...

Design: A clinical database (Diabeta) of 106,000 patient problem record entries containing 2,625 unique concepts in an clinical academic department was used to compare semantic, free-text, ICD-10, and hierarchic data retrieval against a gold standard in response to a battery of 47 clinical questions. Measurements: The performance of concept and record retrieval expressed as mean detection rate,...

The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel (CMH) test, developed in the 1950s, is a classic health research, especially epidemiology and other fields which dichotomous polytomous variables are frequent. This nonparametric test makes it possible to measure check effect of an antecedent variable X on outcome Y, statistically controlling third Z that acts as confounding relationship between Y. Both Y measured qu...

BACKGROUND Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is becoming an increasingly commonly diagnosed and treated childhood illness. Untreated ADHD is recognised as an independent risk factor for suicide-related events and deliberate self-harm and is reported more commonly in these populations. With the treatment of ADHD it is thus crucial to understand further any associations between phar...