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Comparing the Areas under Two or More Correlated Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves: A Nonparametric Approach
Elizabeth R. DeLong, David M. DeLong, Daniel L. Clarke‐Pearson. Biometrics, 1988-09-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Methods of evaluating and comparing the performance of diagnostic tests are of increasing importance as new tests are developed and marketed. When a test is based on an observed variable that lies on a continuous or graded scale, an assessment of the overall value of the test can be made through the use of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The curve is constructed by varying the cutpoint used to determine which values of the observed variable will be considered abnormal and then plotting the resulting sensitivities against the corresponding false positive rates. When two or more empirical curves are constructed based on tests performed on the same individuals, statistical analysis on differences between curves must take into account the correlated nature of the data. This paper presents a nonparametric approach to the analysis of areas under correlated ROC curves, by using the theory on generalized U-statistics to generate an estimated covariance matrix.
Why it matters
Presents a statistical method for comparing the areas under two or more receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves when tests are performed on the same individuals, a way to compare how well diagnostic tests perform. It is a general statistics paper, not about Alzheimer's.
How this study scored 48/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on strength of evidence, so that was left out: it earned 46 of the 95 points we could judge it on, which is 48 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Biometrics) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Biometrics: journal h-index 405 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | — / 5 | No evidence rating recorded — left out of this score |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1988 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 22,549 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 563.7 citations a year over 40 year(s) since 1988 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 4.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 4 / 4 | Cited 4,878 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Daniel L. Clarke‐Pearson: h-index 67 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | IQVIA (United States): institution h-index 217 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 3203132) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 46 / 95 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 46 of the 95 points we could judge it on is 48 out of 100. |
| Total | 48 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
DeLong, E. R., DeLong, D. M., & Clarke‐Pearson, D. L. (1988). Comparing the Areas under Two or More Correlated Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves: A Nonparametric Approach. Biometrics. https://doi.org/10.2307/2531595
Vancouver
DeLong ER, DeLong DM, Clarke‐Pearson DL. Comparing the Areas under Two or More Correlated Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves: A Nonparametric Approach. Biometrics. 1988. doi:10.2307/2531595. PMID: 3203132.
BibTeX
@article{delong1988-3203132,
author = {DeLong, Elizabeth R. and DeLong, David M. and Clarke‐Pearson, Daniel L.},
title = {{Comparing the Areas under Two or More Correlated Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves: A Nonparametric Approach}},
journal = {Biometrics},
year = {1988},
doi = {10.2307/2531595},
pmid = {3203132},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2307/2531595}
}