Causal Meta-Analysis by Integrating Multiple Observational Studies with Multivariate Outcomes

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Guha, Subharup, Li, Yi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Guha, Subharup
Li, Yi
author_facet Guha, Subharup
Li, Yi
contents Integrating multiple observational studies to make unconfounded causal or descriptive comparisons of group potential outcomes in a large natural population is challenging. Moreover, retrospective cohorts, being convenience samples, are usually unrepresentative of the natural population of interest and have groups with unbalanced covariates. We propose a general covariate-balancing framework based on pseudo-populations that extends established weighting methods to the meta-analysis of multiple retrospective cohorts with multiple groups. Additionally, by maximizing the effective sample sizes of the cohorts, we propose a FLEXible, Optimized, and Realistic (FLEXOR) weighting method appropriate for integrative analyses. We develop new weighted estimators for unconfounded inferences on wide-ranging population-level features and estimands relevant to group comparisons of quantitative, categorical, or multivariate outcomes. Asymptotic properties of these estimators are examined. Through simulation studies and meta-analyses of TCGA datasets, we demonstrate the versatility and reliability of the proposed weighting strategy, especially for the FLEXOR pseudo-population.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2306_16715
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Causal Meta-Analysis by Integrating Multiple Observational Studies with Multivariate Outcomes
Guha, Subharup
Li, Yi
Methodology
Integrating multiple observational studies to make unconfounded causal or descriptive comparisons of group potential outcomes in a large natural population is challenging. Moreover, retrospective cohorts, being convenience samples, are usually unrepresentative of the natural population of interest and have groups with unbalanced covariates. We propose a general covariate-balancing framework based on pseudo-populations that extends established weighting methods to the meta-analysis of multiple retrospective cohorts with multiple groups. Additionally, by maximizing the effective sample sizes of the cohorts, we propose a FLEXible, Optimized, and Realistic (FLEXOR) weighting method appropriate for integrative analyses. We develop new weighted estimators for unconfounded inferences on wide-ranging population-level features and estimands relevant to group comparisons of quantitative, categorical, or multivariate outcomes. Asymptotic properties of these estimators are examined. Through simulation studies and meta-analyses of TCGA datasets, we demonstrate the versatility and reliability of the proposed weighting strategy, especially for the FLEXOR pseudo-population.
title Causal Meta-Analysis by Integrating Multiple Observational Studies with Multivariate Outcomes
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.16715