Quantifying degrees of necessity and of sufficiency in cause-effect relationships with dichotomous and survival outcomes

Statistics in Medicine
Andreas Gleiss, M Schemper

Abstract

We suggest measures to quantify the degrees of necessity and of sufficiency of prognostic factors for dichotomous and for survival outcomes. A cause, represented by certain values of prognostic factors, is considered necessary for an event if, without the cause, the event cannot develop. It is considered sufficient for an event if the event is unavoidable in the presence of the cause. Necessity and sufficiency can be seen as the two faces of causation, and this symmetry and equal relevance are reflected by the suggested measures. The measures provide an approximate, in some cases an exact, multiplicative decomposition of explained variation as defined by Schemper and Henderson for censored survival and for dichotomous outcomes. The measures, ranging from zero to one, are simple, intuitive functions of unconditional and conditional probabilities of an event such as disease or death. These probabilities often will be derived from logistic or Cox regression models; the measures, however, do not require any particular model. The measures of the degree of necessity implicitly generalize the established attributable fraction or risk for dichotomous prognostic factors and dichotomous outcomes to continuous prognostic factors and to su...Continue Reading

References

Dec 1, 1976·American Journal of Epidemiology·K J Rothman
Aug 1, 1996·Controlled Clinical Trials·M Schemper, T L Smith
Oct 15, 1996·Statistics in Medicine·M Mittlböck, M Schemper
Oct 15, 1996·Statistics in Medicine·M Schemper, J Stare
Apr 28, 2000·Biometrics·M Schemper, R Henderson
Jun 22, 2000·Statistics in Medicine·B Zheng, A Agresti
Jul 12, 2001·Statistical Methods in Medical Research·M LandO Gefeller
Oct 18, 2001·Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health·S NilssonG Pershagen
Jul 11, 2003·Statistics in Medicine·Michael Schemper
Apr 24, 2004·American Journal of Epidemiology·Margaret Sullivan PepePolly Newcomb
Jun 10, 2006·Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes : JAIDS·George W Nelson, Stephen J O'Brien
Aug 19, 2007·Statistics in Medicine·Sven Ove Samuelsen, Geir Egil Eide
Aug 22, 2009·Statistics in Medicine·Christopher CoxAlvaro Muñoz
Oct 3, 2015·Statistics in Medicine·Nataša KejžarJanez Stare
Apr 8, 2016·Annals of Oncology : Official Journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology·Andreas GleissMichael Schemper

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations


❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

AR
R
SAS

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.