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A latent variable transformation model approach for exploring dysphagia.

ABSTRACT: Multiple outcomes are often collected in applications where the quantity of interest cannot be measured directly or is difficult or expensive to measure. In a head and neck cancer study conducted at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the investigators wanted to determine the effect of clinical and treatment factors on unobservable dysphagia through collected multiple outcomes of mixed types. Latent variable models are commonly adopted in this setting. These models stipulate that multiple collected outcomes are conditionally independent given the latent factor. Mixed types of outcomes (e.g., continuous vs. ordinal) and censored outcomes present statistical challenges, however, as a natural analog of the multivariate normal distribution does not exist for mixed data. Recently, Lin et al. proposed a semiparametric latent variable transformation model for mixed outcome data; however, it may not readily accommodate event time outcomes where censoring is present. In this paper, we extend the work of Lin et al. by proposing both semiparametric and parametric latent variable models that allow for the estimation of the latent factor in the presence of measurable outcomes of mixed types, including censored outcomes. Both approaches allow for a direct estimate of the treatment (or other covariate) effect on the unobserved latent variable, greatly enhancing the interpretability of the models. The semiparametric approach has the added advantage of allowing the relationship between the measurable outcomes and latent variables to be unspecified, rendering more robust inference. The parametric and semiparametric models can also be used together, providing a comprehensive modeling strategy for complicated latent variable problems.

SUBMITTER: Snavely AC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7263574 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A latent variable transformation model approach for exploring dysphagia.

Snavely Anna C AC Harrington David P DP Li Yi Y

Statistics in medicine 20140629 25

Multiple outcomes are often collected in applications where the quantity of interest cannot be measured directly or is difficult or expensive to measure. In a head and neck cancer study conducted at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the investigators wanted to determine the effect of clinical and treatment factors on unobservable dysphagia through collected multiple outcomes of mixed types. Latent variable models are commonly adopted in this setting. These models stipulate that multiple collected ou ...[more]

PMID: 24974798

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Project description:The aim of this study was to determine if a latent variable approach might be useful in identifying shared variance across genetic risk alleles that is associated with antisocial behaviour at age 15 years.Using a conventional latent variable approach, we derived an antisocial phenotype in 328 adolescents utilizing data from a 15-year follow-up of a randomized trial of a prenatal and infancy nurse-home visitation programme in Elmira, New York. We then investigated, via a novel latent variable approach, 450 informative genetic polymorphisms in 71 genes previously associated with antisocial behaviour, drug use, affiliative behaviours and stress response in 241 consenting individuals for whom DNA was available. Haplotype and Pathway analyses were also performed.Eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from eight genes contributed to the latent genetic variable that in turn accounted for 16.0% of the variance within the latent antisocial phenotype. The number of risk alleles was linearly related to the latent antisocial variable scores. Haplotypes that included the putative risk alleles for all eight genes were also associated with higher latent antisocial variable scores. In addition, 33 SNPs from 63 of the remaining genes were also significant when added to the final model. Many of these genes interact on a molecular level, forming molecular networks. The results support a role for genes related to dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, glutamate, opioid and cholinergic signalling as well as stress response pathways in mediating susceptibility to antisocial behaviour.This preliminary study supports use of relevant behavioural indicators and latent variable approaches to study the potential 'co-action' of gene variants associated with antisocial behaviour. It also underscores the cumulative relevance of common genetic variants for understanding the aetiology of complex behaviour. If replicated in future studies, this approach may allow the identification of a 'shared' variance across genetic risk alleles associated with complex neuropsychiatric dimensional phenotypes using relatively small numbers of well-characterized research participants.

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A latent variable transformation model approach for exploring dysphagia.

Publications

A latent variable transformation model approach for exploring dysphagia.

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