Premium
On the probability of demonstrating differential fertility in genetic studies
Author(s) -
MacCLUER JEAN WALTERS
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
annals of human genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1469-1809
pISSN - 0003-4800
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-1809.1978.tb00931.x
Subject(s) - fertility , demography , total fertility rate , research center , human fertility , variance (accounting) , psychology , sociology , political science , population , family planning , research methodology , economics , law , accounting
Summary Computer simulation has been used to investigate the probability of detecting genetic dif‐ ferences in fertility in small cohorts. It was found that in cohorts of size 200 which have the demographic characteristics of females born in the United States in 1921‐5, the probability is approximately 0.50 of detecting, by analysis of variance, either a 20 yo reduction in the monthly probability of conception or a 15–20 yo increase in the rate of foetal loss in the first month after conception. Consideration is given to the relative sensitivities of various observable measures of fertility to variation in underlying fertility components. This study was supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grant 1 R01 HD07618 and by a Biomedical Research Support Grant from the National Institutes of Hoalth. I wish to thank Ellen R. Brennan for assistance in surveying the fertility literature; Bennett Dyke for helpful criticism of the manuscript; and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences for providing me with the opportunity to complete this study. My fellowship at the Center was funded by National Science Foundation Grant BNS76‐22943.