Continuous-time causal mediation analysis.

ABSTRACT: While causal mediation analysis has seen considerable recent development for a single measured mediator (M) and final outcome (Y), less attention has been given to repeatedly measured M and Y. Previous methods have typically involved discrete-time models that limit inference to the particular measurement times used and do not recognize the continuous nature of the mediation process over time. To overcome such limitations, we present a new continuous-time approach to causal mediation analysis that uses a differential equations model in a potential outcomes framework to describe the causal relationships among model variables over time. A connection between the differential equation models and standard repeated measures models is made to provide convenient model formulation and fitting. A con

SUBMITTER: Albert JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6731141 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature