Mediation Analysis in the Presence of Sample Selection Bias with an Application to Disparities in Liver Transplantation Listing

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Khan, Zain, Sequeira, Lynnette, Strauss, Alexandra T., Jain, Vedant, Dixon, Juliette, Moughames, Eric, Vong, Tyrus, Malinsky, Daniel
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Khan, Zain
Sequeira, Lynnette
Strauss, Alexandra T.
Jain, Vedant
Dixon, Juliette
Moughames, Eric
Vong, Tyrus
Malinsky, Daniel
author_facet Khan, Zain
Sequeira, Lynnette
Strauss, Alexandra T.
Jain, Vedant
Dixon, Juliette
Moughames, Eric
Vong, Tyrus
Malinsky, Daniel
contents The study of disparities in the liver transplantation process may focus on quantifying causal effects, particularly the average, direct, or indirect effects of various social determinants of health on being listed as a candidate for transplant. Selection bias arises when the data sample does not represent the target population, defined here as all individuals referred to the transplant clinic. Listing decisions are made for the subset of patients who complete the evaluation process, who may differ systematically from the referred population. There is evidence that selection is associated with patient characteristics that also impact outcomes. Using data only from the selected population may yield biased causal effect estimates. However, incorporating data from the referred population allows for analytic correction. This correction leverages hypothesized causal relationships among selection, the outcome (getting listed), exposures, and mediators. Using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), we establish graphical conditions under which a reweighted mediation formula identifies effect of interest - direct, indirect, and path-specific effects - in the presence of sample selection. In a clinical case study, we investigate mediated and direct effects of a patient's socioeconomic position on being listed for transplant, allowing selection to depend on race, gender, age, and other social determinants.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_01969
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Mediation Analysis in the Presence of Sample Selection Bias with an Application to Disparities in Liver Transplantation Listing
Khan, Zain
Sequeira, Lynnette
Strauss, Alexandra T.
Jain, Vedant
Dixon, Juliette
Moughames, Eric
Vong, Tyrus
Malinsky, Daniel
Applications
Methodology
The study of disparities in the liver transplantation process may focus on quantifying causal effects, particularly the average, direct, or indirect effects of various social determinants of health on being listed as a candidate for transplant. Selection bias arises when the data sample does not represent the target population, defined here as all individuals referred to the transplant clinic. Listing decisions are made for the subset of patients who complete the evaluation process, who may differ systematically from the referred population. There is evidence that selection is associated with patient characteristics that also impact outcomes. Using data only from the selected population may yield biased causal effect estimates. However, incorporating data from the referred population allows for analytic correction. This correction leverages hypothesized causal relationships among selection, the outcome (getting listed), exposures, and mediators. Using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), we establish graphical conditions under which a reweighted mediation formula identifies effect of interest - direct, indirect, and path-specific effects - in the presence of sample selection. In a clinical case study, we investigate mediated and direct effects of a patient's socioeconomic position on being listed for transplant, allowing selection to depend on race, gender, age, and other social determinants.
title Mediation Analysis in the Presence of Sample Selection Bias with an Application to Disparities in Liver Transplantation Listing
topic Applications
Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.01969