Problem of immortal time bias in cohort studies: example using statins for preventing progression of diabetes

Immortal time in observational studies can bias the results in favour of the treatment group, but it is not difficult to identify and avoid

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMJ Vol. 340; no. 7752; pp. 907 - 911
Main Authors:	Lévesque, Linda E, Hanley, James A, Kezouh, Abbas, Suissa, Samy
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 12-03-2010 British Medical Association BMJ Publishing Group LTD BMJ Publishing Group
Edition:	International edition
Subjects:	Bias Cohort Studies Design analysis Diabetes Diabetes Mellitus - prevention & control Disease Progression Dopamine Drugs Epidemiology Gastrointestinal agents Health risk assessment Heart attacks Humans Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - therapeutic use Insulin Medical research Medical treatment Older adults Pharmacoepidemiology Research methods RESEARCH METHODS & REPORTING Statins Time dependence Time Factors
Online Access:	Get full text
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Description
Summary:	Immortal time in observational studies can bias the results in favour of the treatment group, but it is not difficult to identify and avoid
Bibliography:	ArticleID:levl703686 local:bmj;340/mar12_1/b5087 PMID:20228141 istex:0563A26F70B9F16CDA64883327B30D8330E7E2BB ark:/67375/NVC-TZSGS84G-W href:bmj-340-bmj-b5087.pdf ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0959-8138 0959-8146 1468-5833 1756-1833
DOI:	10.1136/bmj.b5087