Estimation of absolute risk from nested case-control data.

Benichou and Gail (1995, Biometrics 51, 182-194) describe methods for estimating the absolute risk of developing disease given a set of covariate values over a specified time interval from a case-control study within a cohort. The methods are most suitable for unmatched case-control studies, and are restricted to categorical covariates. Expanding on methods for estimating relative mortality from nested case-control studies presented in Borgan and Langholz (1993, Biometrics 49, 593-602), we present methods for estimating absolute risk from individually matched nested case-control data. These methods accommodate continuous and time-dependent covariate histories, the sampling of cases, and various control sampling designs.