Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026

Development of an Individual-Tree Basal Area Increment Model using a Linear Mixed-Effects Approach
Published on: July 3, 2020
Simulating from marginal structural models with time-dependent confounding
1School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TW, UK. w.havercroft@bristol.ac.uk
Abstract:
We discuss why it is not always obvious how to simulate longitudinal data from a general marginal structural model (MSM) for a survival outcome while ensuring that the data exhibit complications due to time-dependent confounding. On the basis of the relation between a directed acyclic graph and an MSM, we suggest a data-generating process that satisfies both these requirements, the general validity of which we prove. Our approach is instructive regarding the interpretation of MSMs and useful in that it allows one to examine the finite sample performance of methods that claim to adjust for time-dependent confounding. We apply our methodology to design a simulation study that emulates typical longitudinal studies such as the Swiss HIV Cohort Study so that competing methods of adjusting for time-dependent covariates can be compared.
Related Concept Videos
Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...
Confounding in Epidemiological Studies
Mechanistic Models: Compartment Models in Individual and Population Analysis
Multicompartment Models: Overview
These models offer a more comprehensive representation of drug behavior in the body than one-compartment models. They accommodate the complexity of drug distribution,...
Pharmacodynamic Models: Linear Concentration–Effect Model
Assumptions of Survival Analysis
