This practical guide to survival data and its analysis for readers with a minimal background in statistics shows why the analytic methods work and how to effectively analyze and interpret epidemiologic and medical survival data with the help of modern computer systems. The introduction presents a review of a variety of statistical methods that are not only key elements of survival analysis but are also central to statistical analysis in general. Techniques such as statistical tests, transformations, confidence intervals, and analytic modeling are presented in the context of survival data but are, in fact, statistical tools that apply to understanding the analysis of many kinds of data. Similarly, discussions of such statistical concepts as bias, confounding, independence, and interaction are presented in the context of survival analysis and also are basic components of a broad range of applications. These topics make up essentially a 'second-year', one-semester biostatistics course in survival analysis concepts and techniques for non-statisticians.

A straightforward and easy-to-follow introduction to the main concepts and techniques of the subject. It is based on numerous courses given by the author to students and researchers in the health sciences and is written with such readers in mind. A "user-friendly" layout includes numerous illustrations and exercises and the book is written in such a way so as to enable readers learn directly without the assistance of a classroom instructor. Throughout, there is an emphasis on presenting each new topic backed by real examples of a survival analysis investigation, followed up with thorough analyses of real data sets. Each chapter concludes with practice exercises to help readers reinforce their understanding of the concepts covered, before going on to a more comprehensive test. Answers to both are included. Readers will enjoy David Kleinbaums style of presentation, making this an excellent introduction for all those coming to the subject for the first time.

"Fourth edition has new chapters on Bayesian survival analysis and use of the R software. Chapters extensively revised, expanded to add new material on topics that include methods for assessing predictive ability of a model, joint models for longitudinal and survival data, modern methods for the analysis of interval-censored survival data"--

THE MOST PRACTICAL, UP-TO-DATE GUIDE TO MODELLING AND ANALYZING TIME-TO-EVENT DATA—NOW IN A VALUABLE NEW EDITION Since publication of the first edition nearly a decade ago, analyses using time-to-event methods have increase considerably in all areas of scientific inquiry mainly as a result of model-building methods available in modern statistical software packages. However, there has been minimal coverage in the available literature to9 guide researchers, practitioners, and students who wish to apply these methods to health-related areas of study. Applied Survival Analysis, Second Edition provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to regression modeling for time-to-event data in medical, epidemiological, biostatistical, and other health-related research. This book places a unique emphasis on the practical and contemporary applications of regression modeling rather than the mathematical theory. It offers a clear and accessible presentation of modern modeling techniques supplemented with real-world examples and case studies. Key topics covered include: variable selection, identification of the scale of continuous covariates, the role of interactions in the model, assessment of fit and model assumptions, regression diagnostics, recurrent event models, frailty models, additive models, competing risk models, and missing data. Features of the Second Edition include: Expanded coverage of interactions and the covariate-adjusted survival functions The use of the Worchester Heart Attack Study as the main modeling data set for illustrating discussed concepts and techniques New discussion of variable selection with multivariable fractional polynomials Further exploration of time-varying covariates, complex with examples Additional treatment of the exponential, Weibull, and log-logistic parametric regression models Increased emphasis on interpreting and using results as well as utilizing multiple imputation methods to analyze data with missing values New examples and exercises at the end of each chapter Analyses throughout the text are performed using Stata® Version 9, and an accompanying FTP site contains the data sets used in the book. Applied Survival Analysis, Second Edition is an ideal book for graduate-level courses in biostatistics, statistics, and epidemiologic methods. It also serves as a valuable reference for practitioners and researchers in any health-related field or for professionals in insurance and government.

This volume, representing a compilation of authoritative reviews on a multitude of uses of statistics in epidemiology and medical statistics written by internationally renowned experts, is addressed to statisticians working in biomedical and epidemiological fields who use statistical and quantitative methods in their work. While the use of statistics in these fields has a long and rich history, explosive growth of science in general and clinical and epidemiological sciences in particular have gone through a see of change, spawning the development of new methods and innovative adaptations of standard methods. Since the literature is highly scattered, the Editors have undertaken this humble exercise to document a representative collection of topics of broad interest to diverse users. The volume spans a cross section of standard topics oriented toward users in the current evolving field, as well as special topics in much need which have more recent origins. This volume was prepared especially keeping the applied statisticians in mind, emphasizing applications-oriented methods and techniques, including references to appropriate software when relevant.· Contributors are internationally renowned experts in their respective areas· Addresses emerging statistical challenges in epidemiological, biomedical, and pharmaceutical research· Methods for assessing Biomarkers, analysis of competing risks· Clinical trials including sequential and group sequential, crossover designs, cluster randomized, and adaptive designs· Structural equations modelling and longitudinal data analysis

For readers with a minimal background in statistics, this text shows how to analyze and interpret epidemiological and medical survival data.

Applied Survival Analysis Using R covers the main principles of survival analysis, gives examples of how it is applied, and teaches how to put those principles to use to analyze data using R as a vehicle. Survival data, where the primary outcome is time to a specific event, arise in many areas of biomedical research, including clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and studies of animals. Many survival methods are extensions of techniques used in linear regression and categorical data, while other aspects of this field are unique to survival data. This text employs numerous actual examples to illustrate survival curve estimation, comparison of survivals of different groups, proper accounting for censoring and truncation, model variable selection, and residual analysis. Because explaining survival analysis requires more advanced mathematics than many other statistical topics, this book is organized with basic concepts and most frequently used procedures covered in earlier chapters, with more advanced topics near the end and in the appendices. A background in basic linear regression and categorical data analysis, as well as a basic knowledge of calculus and the R system, will help the reader to fully appreciate the information presented. Examples are simple and straightforward while still illustrating key points, shedding light on the application of survival analysis in a way that is useful for graduate students, researchers, and practitioners in biostatistics.

Easy to read and comprehensive, Survival Analysis Using SAS: A Practical Guide, Second Edition, by Paul D. Allison, is an accessible, data-based introduction to methods of survival analysis. Researchers who want to analyze survival data with SAS will find just what they need with this fully updated new edition that incorporates the many enhancements in SAS procedures for survival analysis in SAS 9. Although the book assumes only a minimal knowledge of SAS, more experienced users will learn new techniques of data input and manipulation. Numerous examples of SAS code and output make this an eminently practical book, ensuring that even the uninitiated become sophisticated users of survival analysis. The main topics presented include censoring, survival curves, Kaplan-Meier estimation, accelerated failure time models, Cox regression models, and discrete-time analysis. Also included are topics not usually covered in survival analysis books, such as time-dependent covariates, competing risks, and repeated events. Survival Analysis Using SAS: A Practical Guide, Second Edition, has been thoroughly updated for SAS 9, and all figures are presented using ODS Graphics. This new edition also documents major enhancements to the STRATA statement in the LIFETEST procedure; includes a section on the PROBPLOT command, which offers graphical methods to evaluate the fit of each parametric regression model; introduces the new BAYES statement for both parametric and Cox models, which allows the user to do a Bayesian analysis using MCMC methods; demonstrates the use of the counting process syntax as an alternative method for handling time-dependent covariates; contains a section on cumulative incidence functions; and describes the use of the new GLIMMIX procedure to estimate random-effects models for discrete-time data. This book is part of the SAS Press program.

This practical guide shows why the analytic methods work and how to effectively analyze and interpret epidemiologic and medical survival data with the help of modern computer systems. The introduction presents a review of a variety of statistical methods that are not only key elements of survival analysis but are also central to statistical analysis in general. Techniques such as statistical tests, transformations, confidence intervals, and analytic modeling are presented in the context of survival data but are, in fact, statistical tools that apply to understanding the analysis of many kinds of data. Similarly, discussions of such statistical concepts such as bias, confounding, independence, and interaction are presented in the context of survival analysis as well as the basic components of a broad range of applications.

This book combines applied and theoretical approaches to the analysis of epidemiologic issues. It goes beyond elementary material to deal with real problems generated by disease data, and delves into less usual areas such as the analysis of spatial distributions, survival data, proportional hazards regression, and "computer-intensive" approaches to statistical estimation. Each method discussed in the text is illustrated with examples which include complete sets of data. Using actual data demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of different analytic approaches in describing a disease process. The goal of the book is to allow the reader to develop a clear understanding of analytic approaches to problems in epidemiologic data analysis without relying on sophisticated mathematics and advanced statistical theory. For the Second Edition a new chapter on the analysis of matched data has been added. This covers both discrete and continuous outcomes and explains both the classic analytic approach and the conditional logistic regression model. New sections have also been added on contingency table data, misclassification, and additive models underlying tabular data. In all the chapters there are new applications and other revisions that make this Second Edition a clearer and more helpful exposition of the way statistical tools are used to analyze epidemiologic data.