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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2001/iii/paper-29/5/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 29 5 c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The usual transmission disequilibrium test conditions on the observed parental genotypes, rather than modelling their population probabilities. For a heterozygous parent carrying , the two transmission outcomes are equally likely under no association. With multiplicative penetrance, ascertainment through an affected child weights them by , soThe other parent's penetrance factor cancels. This is a special case of disease-ascertained transmission probability. Under the null , the conditional probability is . Count the discordant transmitted/untransmitted pairs from heterozygous parents and test their balance, using McNemar's test or its exact conditional binomial form. Homozygous parental transmissions do not distinguish the alternatives.
This conditional analysis removes the nuisance population allele frequencies and retains the family matching. It is therefore robust to population stratification, which can otherwise make allele frequencies differ between cases and controls without a within-family transmission effect. It does not require the unconditional Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and random-mating assumptions used for the population pseudo-control factorization. Independence of suitably sampled families, valid genotypes and the Mendelian null transmission model still matter.
Prefer the within-family conditional transmission test to an unconditional population case–control analysis when the population-frequency assumptions and ancestry comparability are not secure.
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