Dynamical Survival Analysis for Modeling Hazard Functions with Nonlinear Systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Liyanage, Dananjani, Hridoy, Mahmudul Bari, Mostafa, Fahad
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Liyanage, Dananjani
Hridoy, Mahmudul Bari
Mostafa, Fahad
author_facet Liyanage, Dananjani
Hridoy, Mahmudul Bari
Mostafa, Fahad
contents Hazard functions play a central role in survival analysis, providing insight into the underlying risk dynamics of time-to-event data, with broad applications in medicine, epidemiology, and related fields. First-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) formulations of the hazard function have been explored as extensions beyond classical parametric models. However, such approaches typically produce monotonic hazard patterns, limiting their ability to represent oscillatory behavior, nonlinear damping, or coupled growth-decay dynamics. We propose a general statistical framework for modeling and simulating hazard functions governed by higher-order ODEs, allowing the hazard to depend on both its current level, its rate of change, and time. This formulation accommodates complex temporal risk behaviors arising in a range of applications. Building on this framework, we develop a class of nonlinear and oscillatory hazard models, each associated with an interpretable dynamical mechanism and an induced survival distribution. We also present a simulation procedure for solving a system of non-linear higher-order ODEs, with failure times generated via cumulative hazard inversion. Likelihood-based Bayesian inference under right censoring is also developed, and moment generating function analysis is used to characterize tail behavior. The proposed framework is evaluated through simulation studies and illustrated using real data, demonstrating its ability to capture temporal risk patterns not well represented by standard monotone models. In contrast to existing linear ODE-based hazard models, the proposed approach accommodates nonlinear and non-equilibrium dynamics, enabling the representation of temporal risk patterns that are not well captured by first-order or linear oscillator-based formulations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_06322
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dynamical Survival Analysis for Modeling Hazard Functions with Nonlinear Systems
Liyanage, Dananjani
Hridoy, Mahmudul Bari
Mostafa, Fahad
Applications
Methodology
62N99, 62P10, 62P99, 62P35
Hazard functions play a central role in survival analysis, providing insight into the underlying risk dynamics of time-to-event data, with broad applications in medicine, epidemiology, and related fields. First-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) formulations of the hazard function have been explored as extensions beyond classical parametric models. However, such approaches typically produce monotonic hazard patterns, limiting their ability to represent oscillatory behavior, nonlinear damping, or coupled growth-decay dynamics. We propose a general statistical framework for modeling and simulating hazard functions governed by higher-order ODEs, allowing the hazard to depend on both its current level, its rate of change, and time. This formulation accommodates complex temporal risk behaviors arising in a range of applications. Building on this framework, we develop a class of nonlinear and oscillatory hazard models, each associated with an interpretable dynamical mechanism and an induced survival distribution. We also present a simulation procedure for solving a system of non-linear higher-order ODEs, with failure times generated via cumulative hazard inversion. Likelihood-based Bayesian inference under right censoring is also developed, and moment generating function analysis is used to characterize tail behavior. The proposed framework is evaluated through simulation studies and illustrated using real data, demonstrating its ability to capture temporal risk patterns not well represented by standard monotone models. In contrast to existing linear ODE-based hazard models, the proposed approach accommodates nonlinear and non-equilibrium dynamics, enabling the representation of temporal risk patterns that are not well captured by first-order or linear oscillator-based formulations.
title Dynamical Survival Analysis for Modeling Hazard Functions with Nonlinear Systems
topic Applications
Methodology
62N99, 62P10, 62P99, 62P35
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.06322