Using dead controls to adjust for confounders in case-control studies.

The use of dead controls in a case-control study, the primary purpose of which is to control for confounding, leads to consistent relative risk estimates within stratum of the confounder, even if the causes of death of controls are associated with that confounder. Dead controls may be more comparable to dead cases in terms of data quality, and therefore, under these circumstances, the use of dead controls may be advantageous.