Full Description
Statistical science plays an increasingly important role in medical research. Over the last few decades, many new statistical methods have been developed which have particular relevance for medical researchers and, with the appropriate software now easily available, these techniques can be used almost routinely to great effect. These innovative methods include survival analysis, generalized additive models and Bayesian methods. Modern Medical Statistics covers these essential new techniques at an accessible technical level, its main focus being not on the theory but on the effective practical application of these methods in medical research. Modern Medical Statistics is an indispensable practical guide for medical researchers and medical statisticians as well as an ideal text for advanced courses in medical statistics and public health.
Contents
Preface. Prologue.
1. The Generalized Linear Model.
1.1 Introduction.
1.2 The generalized linear model - a brief non-technical account.
1.3 Examples of the application of generalized linear models.
1.4 Poisson regression.
1.5 Overdispersion.
1.6 Summary.
2. Generalized Linear Models for Longitudinal Data.
2.1 Introduction.
2.2 Marginal and conditional regression models.
2.3 Marginal and conditional regression models for continuous responses with Gaussian errors.
2.4 Marginal and conditional regression models for non-normal responses.
2.5 Summary.
3. Missing Values, Drop-outs, Compliance and Intention-to-Treat.
3.1 Introduction.
3.2 Missing values and drop-outs.
3.3 Modelling longitudinal data containing ignorable missing values.
3.4 Non-ignorable missing values.
3.5 Compliance and intention-to-treat.
3.6 Summary.
4. Generalized Additive Models.
4.1 Introduction.
4.2 Scatterplot smoothers.
4.3 Additive and generalized additive models.
4.4 Examples of the application of GAMs.
4.5 Summary.
5. Classification and Regression Trees.
5.1 Introduction.
5.2 Tree-based models.
5.3 Birthweight of babies.
5.4 Summary.
6. Survival Analysis I: Cox's Regression.
6.1 Introduction.
6.2 The survivor function.
6.3 The hazard function.
6.4 Cox's proportional hazards model.
6.5 Left truncation.
6.6 Extending Cox's model by stratification.
6.7 Checking the specification of a Cox model.
6.8 Summary.
7. Survival Analysis II: Time-dependent Covariates, Frailty and Tree Models.
7.1 Introduction.
7.2 Time-dependent covariates.
7.3 Random effects models for survival data.
7.4 Tree-structured survival analysis.
7.5 Summary.
8. Bayesian Methods and Meta-analysis.
8.1 Introduction.
8.2 Bayesian methods.
8.3 Meta-analysis.
8.4 Summary.
9. Exact Inference for Categorical Data.
9.1 Introduction.
9.2 Small expected values in contingency table, Yates' correction and Fisher's exact test.
9.3 Examples of the use of exact p-values.
9.4 Logistic regression and conditional logistic regression for sparse data.
9.5 Summary.
10. Finite Mixture Models.
10.1 Introduction.
10.2 Finite mixture distributions.
10.3 Estimating the parameters in finite mixture models.
10.4 Some examples of the application of finite mixture densities in medical research.
10.5 Latent class analysis - mixtures for binary data.
10.6 Summary.
Glossary.
Appendix A: Statistical Graphics in Medical Invetigations.
A.1 Introduction.
A.2 Probability plots.
A.3 Scatterplots and beyond.
A.4 Scatterplot matrices.
A.5 Coplots and trellis graphics.
Appendix B: Answers to Selected Exercises.
References.
Index.
