Imputation of incident events in longitudinal cohort studies

Am J Epidemiol. 2011 Sep 15;174(6):718-26. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwr155. Epub 2011 Jul 29.

Abstract

Longitudinal cohort studies normally identify and adjudicate incident events detected during follow-up by retrieving medical records. There are several reasons why the adjudication process may not be successfully completed for a suspected event including the inability to retrieve medical records from hospitals and an insufficient time between the suspected event and data analysis. These "incomplete adjudications" are normally assumed not to be events, an approach which may be associated with loss of precision and introduction of bias. In this article, the authors evaluate the use of multiple imputation methods designed to include incomplete adjudications in analysis. Using data from the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) Study, 2008-2009, they demonstrate that this approach may increase precision and reduce bias in estimates of the relations between risk factors and incident events.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Bias*
  • Cause of Death / trends
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medical Records / statistics & numerical data*
  • Middle Aged
  • Models, Statistical
  • Racial Groups*
  • Risk Factors
  • Stroke / ethnology*
  • Stroke / mortality
  • United States / epidemiology