ijsmr
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Abstract: Propensity score matching is a useful tool to analyze observational data in clinical investigations, but it is often executed in an overly simplistic manner, failing to use the data in the best possible way. This review discusses current best practices in propensity score matching, outlining the method’s essential steps, including appropriate post-matching balance assessments and sensitivity analyses. These steps are summarized as eight key traits of a propensity matched study. Further, this review illustrates these traits through a case study examining the impact of access site in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures on bleeding complications. Through propensity score matching, we find that bleeding occurs significantly less often with radial access procedures, though many other outcomes show no significant difference by access site, a finding that mirrors the results of randomized controlled trials. Lack of attention to methodological principles can result in results that are not biologically plausible. Keywords: Propensity Score Matching, Observational Data, Clinical Investigations. Download Full Article |
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Abstract: A matingsystem, previously derived, which is more general than random mating is defined by the gene frequency q and a parameter F which measures divergence from Hardy-Weinberg proportions commonly used in genetic analysis. F can be viewed as the average coefficient of inbreeding in a population, the use emphasized here. Also it can characterize the variation in gene frequency in a stratified population. Taking q as fixed, the distribution of F over values admissible under the general mating system is derived by simulation. The mating system may be seen to be based on indifference as to choice of mates. This is the first object of the paper. The second uses the derived distribution of F to make a Bayesian estimate of F from a single sample of genotypic counts. Such an estimate has a number of uses in genetic analysis. Keywords: Genetic Equilibrium, Hardy-Weinberg Law, Mate choice indifference, Inbreeding coefficient, Bayesian estimation.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: The present study investigated whether whole population exposure to radiation introduced by radio broadcasting and cell phone systems might explain recent increases in melanoma trends in Nordic countries or not. Trends were modeled using a single exponential function of the time each age group has been living in the new environment since an environmental change took place. The results clearly show that melanoma incidences started to increase exponentially by the time lived as an adult since 1955 and that a second trend break occurred in 1997. We searched best fit between calculated and reported age-standardized rates by parameter variation, and compared calculated with reported age-specific rates without further parameter adjustments. Local variations of breast cancer, lung cancer and all cancers together significantly correlated with corresponding local melanoma rates in Sweden. Increasing cancer trends since around 1997 seem related to a population covering environmental change effective from early 90’s. We conclude that this exponential trend model can be a useful tool in understanding responses to sudden environmental changes. Keywords: Cancer, Melanoma, Cell phone, Speech time, Incidence, Trends.Download Full Article |
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Abstract: A matingsystem, previously derived, which is more general than random mating is defined by the gene frequency q and a parameter F which measures divergence from Hardy-Weinberg proportions commonly used in genetic analysis. F can be viewed as the average coefficient of inbreeding in a population, the use emphasized here. Also it can characterize the variation in gene frequency in a stratified population. Taking q as fixed, the distribution of F over values admissible under the general mating system is derived by simulation. The mating system may be seen to be based on indifference as to choice of mates. This is the first object of the paper. The second uses the derived distribution of F to make a Bayesian estimate of F from a single sample of genotypic counts. Such an estimate has a number of uses in genetic analysis. Keywords: Genetic Equilibrium, Hardy-Weinberg Law, Mate choice indifference, Inbreeding coefficient, Bayesian estimation.Download Full Article |
Editor’s Choice : A Bayesian Shared Parameter Model for Analysing Longitudinal Skewed Responses with Nonignorable Dropout
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Abstract: When the nature of a data set comes from a skew distribution, the use of usual Gaussian mixed effect model can be unreliable. In recent years, skew-normal mixed effect models have been used frequently for longitudinal data modeling in many biomedical studies. These models are flexible for considering skewness of the longitudinal data. In this paper, a shared parameter model is considered for simultaneously analysing nonignorable missingness and skew longitudinal outcomes. A Bayesian approach using Markov Chain Monte Carlo is adopted for parameter estimation. Some simulation studies are performed to investigate the performance of the proposed methods. The proposed methods are applied for analyzing an AIDS data set, where CD4 count measurements are gathered as longitudinal outcomes. In these data CD4 counts measurements are severely skew. In application section, different structures of skew-normal distribution assumptions for random effects and errors are considered where deviance informationcriterion is used for model comparison. Keywords: Bayesian approach, Longitudinal data, Markov Chain Monte Carlo, Missingness mechanism, Nonignorable missing data, Random effects model. |
