Time-discrete beta-process model for interval-censored survival data

Grouped survival data with possible interval censoring arise in a variety of settings. This paper presents nonparametric Bayes methods for the analysis of such data. The random cumulative hazard, common to every subject, is assumed to be a realization of a Lévy process. A time-discrete beta process, introduced by Hjort, is considered for modeling the prior process. A sampling-based Monte Carlo algorithm is used to find posterior estimates of several quantities of interest. The methodology presented here is used to check further modeling assumptions. Also, the methodology developed in this paper is illustrated with data for the times to cosmetic deterioration of breast-cancer patients. An extension of the methodology is presented to deal with two interval-censored times in tandem data (as with some AIDS incubation data).     

A generalized linear mixed model for longitudinal binary data with a marginal logit link function

Longitudinal studies of a binary outcome are common in the health, social, and behavioral sciences. In general, a feature of random effects logistic regression models for longitudinal binary data is that the marginal functional form, when integrated over the distribution of the random effects, is no longer of logistic form. Recently, Wang and Louis (2003) proposed a random intercept model in the clustered binary data setting where the marginal model has a logistic form. An acknowledged limitation of their model is that it allows only a single random effect that varies from cluster to cluster. In this paper, we propose a modification of their model to handle longitudinal data, allowing separate, but correlated, random intercepts at each measurement occasion. The proposed model allows for a flexible correlation structure among the random intercepts, where the correlations can be interpreted in terms of Kendall's τ. For example, the marginal correlations among the repeated binary outcomes can decline with increasing time separation, while the model retains the property of having matching conditional and marginal logit link functions. Finally, the proposed method is used to analyze data from a longitudinal study designed to monitor cardiac abnormalities in children born to HIV-infected women.