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Journal article
Path-specific causal decomposition analysis with multiple correlated mediator variables
Statistics in medicine, v 43(23), pp 4519-4541
15 Oct 2024
PMID: 39109807
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
A causal decomposition analysis allows researchers to determine whether the difference in a health outcome between two groups can be attributed to a difference in each group's distribution of one or more modifiable mediator variables. With this knowledge, researchers and policymakers can focus on designing interventions that target these mediator variables. Existing methods for causal decomposition analysis either focus on one mediator variable or assume that each mediator variable is conditionally independent given the group label and the mediator-outcome confounders. In this article, we propose a flexible causal decomposition analysis method that can accommodate multiple correlated and interacting mediator variables, which are frequently seen in studies of health behaviors and studies of environmental pollutants. We extend a Monte Carlo-based causal decomposition analysis method to this setting by using a multivariate mediator model that can accommodate any combination of binary and continuous mediator variables. Furthermore, we state the causal assumptions needed to identify both joint and path-specific decomposition effects through each mediator variable. To illustrate the reduction in bias and confidence interval width of the decomposition effects under our proposed method, we perform a simulation study. We also apply our approach to examine whether differences in smoking status and dietary inflammation score explain any of the Black-White differences in incident diabetes using data from a national cohort study.
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Details
- Title
- Path-specific causal decomposition analysis with multiple correlated mediator variables
- Creators
- Melissa J. Smith - University of Alabama at BirminghamLeslie A. Mcclure - Drexel University, Epidemiology and BiostatisticsD. Leann Long - Wake Forest University
- Publication Details
- Statistics in medicine, v 43(23), pp 4519-4541
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 23
- Grant note
- U01 NS041588 / National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS) U01 NS041588 / National Institute on Aging; United States Department of Health & Human Services; National Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA; NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001285883600001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85200596082
- Other Identifier
- 991022025737704721
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InCites Highlights
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Mathematical & Computational Biology
- Medical Informatics
- Medicine, Research & Experimental
- Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
- Statistics & Probability