SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · 2005.05511

Two-phase analysis and study design for survival models with error-prone exposures

Abstract

Increasingly, medical research is dependent on data collected for non-research purposes, such as electronic health records data (EHR). EHR data and other large databases can be prone to measurement error in key exposures, and unadjusted analyses of error-prone data can bias study results. Validating a subset of records is a cost-effective way of gaining information on the error structure, which in turn can be used to adjust analyses for this error and improve inference. We extend the mean score method for the two-phase analysis of discrete-time survival models, which uses the unvalidated covariates as auxiliary variables that act as surrogates for the unobserved true exposures. This method relies on a two-phase sampling design and an estimation approach that preserves the consistency of complete case regression parameter estimates in the validated subset, with increased precision leveraged from the auxiliary data. Furthermore, we develop optimal sampling strategies which minimize the variance of the mean score estimator for a target exposure under a fixed cost constraint. We consider the setting where an internal pilot is necessary for the optimal design so that the phase two sample is split into a pilot and an adaptive optimal sample. Through simulations and data example, we evaluate efficiency gains of the mean score estimator using the derived optimal validation design compared to balanced and simple random sampling for the phase two sample. We also empirically explore efficiency gains that the proposed discrete optimal design can provide for the Cox proportional hazards model in the setting of a continuous-time survival outcome.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Kyunghee Han, Thomas Lumley, Bryan E. Shepherd, Pamela A. Shaw. 2020-05-12. Two-phase analysis and study design for survival models with error-prone exposures. https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.05511

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Surprise Reduction and Nullification in Bayesian and Inverse Bayesian Inference under Ambiguous Prediction-Error Attribution

In non-stationary environments, prediction errors may signal environmental change or transient outliers, and adaptive systems must track such changes without overreacting to outliers. We distinguish surprise reduction, which updates beliefs to fit observations, from surprise nullification, which weakens constraints imposed by the predictive structure, and formalize both within Bayesian and inverse Bayesian (BIB) inference. Belief and likelihood updates are derived from variational objectives sharing a nullification strength, determined endogenously by minimizing surprise under the candidate post-update predictive distribution. In the Gaussian case, nullification expands belief and likelihood variances by a common factor relative to standard Bayesian updating, leaving the ratio unchanged. BIB thus defers attribution of the prediction error, committing to neither latent-state change nor observation-process uncertainty. The nullification strength is carried over as a candidate and is maintained or released according to the predictive surprise of the next observation. In a mean estimation task with outliers and changepoints, no scanned parameter setting of a Sage-Husa-type adaptive Kalman filter, fixed-strength BIB variant, or belief-forgetting-only variant outperforms BIB in both changepoint tracking and post-outlier stability. An oracle-informed reduced Bayesian model tracks changepoints better but is less stable after outliers. Although BIB maintains no explicit hypotheses about changepoints or outliers, it generates event-dependent dynamics. The learning rate increases after changepoints, whereas after outliers, nullification is released, and this increase is suppressed. Deferring attribution and letting subsequent observations differentiate the responses may constitute a principle of adaptive inference in non-stationary environments.

stat.ME

Generalized Ridge Refitting for the Lasso and Prediction Improvement Bounds

We study a class of Lasso based estimators obtained by applying a quadratic correction on the Lasso equicorrelation set. The penalty matrix determines both the magnitude and geometry of the correction and contains, among other cases, the isotropic Lasso--Ridge correction, least squares refitting, Gram proportional interpolation between the Lasso and least squares, and coordinate specific penalties. We first derive a closed form representation and isolate the positive gain component of the resulting prediction improvement. We then control the remaining stochastic linear term in expectation by localizing the random signed equicorrelation model around a deterministic reference support. This yields a finite sample expectation bound that explicitly accounts for the randomness induced by Lasso model selection. The resulting decomposition provides a unified framework for understanding when Lasso based quadratic corrections can improve prediction.

stat.ME

Discretization in covariate-adaptive randomization: gains and losses

Covariate-adaptive randomization(CAR) is widely implemented in clinical trials to balance prognostic covariates across treatment arms. Continuous covariates are often discretized into strata in practice, yet their consequences are not clearly understood. This paper provides a comprehensive study of the impact of discretization on both the CAR design process and the inferential results thereafter. We establish the asymptotic properties of both imbalance measures and treatment effect estimators under discretized and non-discretized settings. Practical recommendations are given on when and how discretization should be employed. We show that discretization in design is generally recommended, as it enhances robustness against model misspecification. However, if the true model is known, the most efficient strategy is to balance covariates according to that model in the design. The theoretical results are corroborated by extensive simulation studies and an empirical application to a diabetes trial dataset. Together, the results clarify the gains and losses of discretization in CAR and pave the way for learning impact of discretization to other designs and beyond.

stat.ME