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A structural approach to selection bias.

Miguel A Hernán1, Sonia Hernández-Díaz, James M Robins

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. miguel_hernan@post.harvard.edu

Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)
|August 17, 2004
PubMed
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Selection bias in epidemiology arises from conditioning on common effects, impacting both case-control and cohort studies. Understanding this causal structure allows for a unified approach to adjust for selection bias effectively.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Causal Inference
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Selection bias is a broad term in epidemiology, encompassing various biases.
  • Examples include inappropriate control selection in case-control studies and informative censoring in cohort studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe examples of selection bias in epidemiological studies.
  • To elucidate the underlying causal structure of selection bias.
  • To propose a unified approach for adjusting selection bias.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of selection bias in case-control and cohort studies.
  • Application of causal diagrams to illustrate bias structures.
  • Development of a structural classification of bias.

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Main Results:

  • Selection bias stems from conditioning on a common effect of exposure/cause and outcome/cause.
  • This causal structure is shared across different types of selection bias.
  • A structural classification distinguishes selection bias from confounding.

Conclusions:

  • A unified approach to adjust for selection bias is achievable through understanding its causal structure.
  • Structural classification aids in differentiating selection bias from confounding.
  • This framework enhances bias adjustment strategies in epidemiological research.