1,720,981 research outputs found
Comparing measurement error correction methods for rate-of-change exposure variables in survival analysis
In this article we focus on comparing measurement error correction methods for rate-of-change exposure variables in survival analysis, when longitudinal data are observed prior to the follow-up time. Motivational examples include the analysis of the association between changes in cardiovascular risk factors and subsequent onset of coronary events. We derive a measurement error model for the rate of change, estimated through subject-specific linear regression, assuming an additive measurement error model for the time-specific measurements. The rate of change is then included as a time-invariant variable in a Cox proportional hazards model, adjusting for the first time-specific measurement (baseline) and an error-free covariate. In a simulation study, we compared bias, standard deviation and mean squared error (MSE) for the regression calibration (RC) and the simulation-extrapolation (SIMEX) estimators. Our findings indicate that when the amount of measurement error is substantial, RC should be the preferred method, since it has smaller MSE for estimating the coefficients of the rate of change and of the variable measured without error. However, when the amount of measurement error is small, the choice of the method should take into account the event rate in the population and the effect size to be estimated. An application to an observational study, as well as examples of published studies where our model could have been applied, are also provided
Un metodo per ricalibrare funzioni predittive basate sul modello dei rischi proporzionali
Explaining the occupational class differences in CHD incidence: the contribution of major risk factors and job strain.
Improving long-term prediction of first cardiovascular event: The contribution of family history of coronary heart disease and social status
Objective: The aim of this study is to assess whether family history of coronary heart disease (CHD) and education as proxy of social status improve long-term cardiovascular disease risk prediction in a low-incidence European population. Methods: The 20-year risk of first coronary or ischemic stroke events was estimated using sex-specific Cox models in 3956 participants of three population-based surveys in northern Italy, aged 35-69. years and free of cardiovascular disease at enrollment. The additional contribution of education and positive family history of CHD was defined as change in discrimination and Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI) over the model including 7 traditional risk factors. Results: Kaplan-Meier 20-year risk was 16.8% in men (254 events) and 6.4% in women (102 events). Low education (hazard ratio. =. 1.35, 95%CI 0.98-1.85) and family history of CHD (1.55; 1.19-2.03) were associated with the endpoint in men, but not in women. In men, the addition of education and family history significantly improved discrimination by 1%; NRI was 6% (95%CI: 0.2%-15.2%), raising to 20% (0.5%-44%) in those at intermediate risk. NRI in women at intermediate risk was 7%. Conclusion: In low-incidence populations, family history of CHD and education, easily assessed in clinical practice, should be included in long-term cardiovascular disease risk scores, at least in men
The contribution of major risk factors and job strain to occupational class differences in coronary heart disease incidence: the MONICA Brianza and PAMELA population-based cohorts
Objectives We investigated the contribution of major coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors and job strain to occupational class differences in CHD incidence in a pooled-cohort prospective study in northern Italy.
Methods 2964 men aged 25-74 from four northern Italian population-based cohorts were investigated at baseline and followed for first fatal or non-fatal CHD event (171 events). Standardised procedures were used for baseline risk factor measurements, follow-up and validation of CHD events. Four occupational classes were derived from the Erikson-Goldthorpe-Portocarero social class scheme: higher and lower professionals and administrators, non-manual workers, skilled and unskilled manual workers, and the self-employed. HRs were estimated with Cox models.
Results Among CHD-free subjects, with non-manual workers as the reference group, age-adjusted excess risks were found for professionals and administrators (+84%, p=0.02), the self-employed (+72%, p=0.04) and manual workers (+63%, p=0.04). The relationship was consistent across different CHD diagnostic categories. Adjusting for major risk factors only slightly reduced the reported excess risks. In a sub-sample of currently employed subjects, adjusting for major risk factors, sport physical activity and job strain reduced the excess risk for manual workers (relative change = -71.4%) but did not substantially modify the excess risks of professionals and administrators and the self-employed.
Conclusions In our study, we found higher CHD incidence rates for manual workers, professionals and administrators, and the self-employed, compared to non-manual workers. When the entire spectrum of job categories is considered, the job strain model helped explain the CHD excess risk for manual workers but not for other occupational classes
Comparing methods for mesurement error correction in survival analysis when the variable of interest is change over time.
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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