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Statistical Models Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2011

Propensity score methods

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Full-Text Articles in Statistical Models

Comparing Paired Vs. Non-Paired Statistical Methods Of Analyses When Making Inferences About Absolute Risk Reductions In Propensity-Score Matched Samples., Peter C. Austin Jan 2011

Comparing Paired Vs. Non-Paired Statistical Methods Of Analyses When Making Inferences About Absolute Risk Reductions In Propensity-Score Matched Samples., Peter C. Austin

Peter Austin

Propensity-score matching allows one to reduce the effects of treatment-selection bias or confounding when estimating the effects of treatments when using observational data. Some authors have suggested that methods of inference appropriate for independent samples can be used for assessing the statistical significance of treatment effects when using propensity-score matching. Indeed, many authors in the applied medical literature use methods for independent samples when making inferences about treatment effects using propensity-score matched samples. Dichotomous outcomes are common in healthcare research. In this study, we used Monte Carlo simulations to examine the effect on inferences about risk differences (or absolute risk …


Optimal Caliper Widths For Propensity-Score Matching When Estimating Differences In Means And Differences In Proportions In Observational Studies., Peter C. Austin Jan 2011

Optimal Caliper Widths For Propensity-Score Matching When Estimating Differences In Means And Differences In Proportions In Observational Studies., Peter C. Austin

Peter Austin

In a study comparing the effects of two treatments, the propensity score is the probability of assignment to one treatment conditional on a subject's measured baseline covariates. Propensity-score matching is increasingly being used to estimate the effects of exposures using observational data. In the most common implementation of propensity-score matching, pairs of treated and untreated subjects are formed whose propensity scores differ by at most a pre-specified amount (the caliper width). There has been a little research into the optimal caliper width. We conducted an extensive series of Monte Carlo simulations to determine the optimal caliper width for estimating differences …


A Tutorial And Case Study In Propensity Score Analysis: An Application To Estimating The Effect Of In-Hospital Smoking Cessation Counseling On Mortality, Peter C. Austin Jan 2011

A Tutorial And Case Study In Propensity Score Analysis: An Application To Estimating The Effect Of In-Hospital Smoking Cessation Counseling On Mortality, Peter C. Austin

Peter Austin

Propensity score methods allow investigators to estimate causal treatment effects using observational or nonrandomized data. In this article we provide a practical illustration of the appropriate steps in conducting propensity score analyses. For illustrative purposes, we use a sample of current smokers who were discharged alive after being hospitalized with a diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction. The exposure of interest was receipt of smoking cessation counseling prior to hospital discharge and the outcome was mortality with 3 years of hospital discharge. We illustrate the following concepts: first, how to specify the propensity score model; second, how to match treated and …


An Introduction To Propensity-Score Methods For Reducing Confounding In Observational Studies, Peter C. Austin Dec 2010

An Introduction To Propensity-Score Methods For Reducing Confounding In Observational Studies, Peter C. Austin

Peter Austin

The propensity score is the probability of treatment assignment conditional on observed baseline characteristics. The propensity score allows one to design and analyze an observational (non-randomized) study so that it mimics some of the particular characteristics of a randomized controlled trial. In particular, the propensity score is a balancing score: conditional on the propensity score, the distribution of observed baseline covariates will be similar between treated and untreated subjects. We describe four different propensity score methods: matching on the propensity score, stratification on the propensity score, inverse probability of treatment weighting using the propensity score, and covariate adjustment using the …