On the use of concordant pairs in matched case-control studies.

A new estimator of the common odds ratio in one-to-one matched case-control studies is proposed. The connection between this estimator and the James-Stein estimating procedure is highlighted through the argument of estimating functions. Comparisons are made between this estimator, the conditional maximum likelihood estimator, and the estimator ignoring the matching in terms of finite sample bias, mean squared error, coverage probability, and length of confidence interval. In many situations, the new estimator is found to be more efficient than the conditional maximum likelihood estimator without being as biased as the estimator that ignores matching. The extension to multiple risk factors is also outlined.