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Attributable fractions with survival data
Author(s) -
Samuelsen Sven Ove,
Eide Geir Egil
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
statistics in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.996
H-Index - 183
eISSN - 1097-0258
pISSN - 0277-6715
DOI - 10.1002/sim.3022
Subject(s) - fraction (chemistry) , statistics , econometrics , survival analysis , computer science , epidemiology , medicine , hazard ratio , interpretation (philosophy) , mathematics , confidence interval , chemistry , organic chemistry , programming language
Attributable fraction (AF) is an important concept in clinical and epidemiological studies. The concept has mainly been discussed in relation to case–control studies, cross‐sectional studies, and follow‐up studies of fixed length. Here, we propose and discuss several ways of defining and estimating AFs with right‐censored survival data, and thus with varying lengths of follow‐up. In particular, we define the attributable hazard fraction, the AF before time t , and the AF within study. These measures have different interpretations and may give different numerical values, as illustrated in an application to real data on time to the first receiving of cash benefits for hearing impairment in children. The results underline the need for careful selection of the type of measure and interpretation when reporting AFs for survival data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.