Estimating Causal Effects of Occupational Exposures on Lung Health in the Presence of Competing Risks
Year: 2023
Type: dissertation
Abstract: In many longitudinal studies researchers are interested in examining failure times associated with a particular risk in settings where subjects may fail due to only one of multiple competing risks. Using targeted learning, we present a method of estimating the cumulative incidence of the multinomial outcome constructed of all possible risks which does not require independence assumptions among the outcomes. We show analytically and with simulation that this method is suitable within the causal roadmap to provide causal contrasts with natural interpretations. We compare the minimal assumptions required for statistically and epidemiologically unbiased interpretations using this method to those required for cause-specific estimation. We apply this method to estimate the causal effect of average yearly cumulative exposure to metal-working fluids on mortality from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer among a cohort of autoworkers hired between 1938-1985.
Author: Combs, Mary
Institution: University of California, Berkeley
Language: English
Subfield: Statistics and Probability
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7066042741