ArticlePrevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research2012
The causal mediation formula--a guide to the assessment of pathways and mechanisms.
Article in Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 151 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
151 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Mediation analysis with a time-to-event outcome: a review of use and reporting in healthcare research.BMC medical research methodology · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Mediated effects of LIFE4YOUth-a mobile health intervention for multiple lifestyle behavior change among high school students in Sweden: findings from a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- Mediated effects of a randomised control trial for a text messaging smoking cessation intervention for online help-seekers and primary care visitors.BMC public health · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Maternal knowledge explains screen time differences 2 and 3.5 years post-intervention in INFANT.European journal of pediatrics · 2021Trial
- Preoperative Cognitive Abnormality, Intraoperative Electroencephalogram Suppression, and Postoperative Delirium: A Mediation Analysis.Anesthesiology · 2020Trial
- Potential Outcomes Effects in Mediation Designs with Three Experimental Conditions.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026Article
- Determining the Causal Effect of Neurotrophic Tropomyosin Receptor Kinase Gene Fusions on Survival Prognosis for Adult Patients With Advanced Cancers.JCO precision oncology · 2026Article
- Deconfounded-Debiased Estimation and Inference for High-Dimensional Mediation Analysis With Pervasive Hidden Confounders.Statistics in medicine · 2026Article
- Confirmatory Person-Oriented Mediation Analysis in Categorical Variables-Options and Limitations.Integrative psychological & behavioral science · 2026Article
- Impact of Telemedicine-Enhanced Integrated Management of Gestational Diabetes on Pregnancy Outcomes and Glycemic Control: Real-World Study Using TangMama App.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Separability and identifiability as primary obstacles to substantively useful mediation analysis.European journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Numeracy, literacy, and formal education as mechanisms of inequities in late-life cognitive performance between Indigenous-speaking and non-Indigenous-speaking older Mexican adults.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026Article
- Determining the Survival Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Multi-Gene Panel Sequencing in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer With Super Learning Approaches.Health services research · 2026Article
- Causal Mediation Analysis for Effect Heterogeneity.Observational studies · 2026Article
- Powerful large scale inference in high dimensional mediation analysis.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Growth mindset and socioeconomic inequality in academic achievement across seventy-three PISA countries.NPJ science of learning · 2025Article
- Natural Effects in the Presence of an Intermediate Confounder: Evaluation of Pragmatic Estimation Strategies With an Emphasis on the Relationship Between Natural and Interventional Effects.Statistics in medicine · 2025Article
91 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
Abstract
Recent advances in causal inference have given rise to a general and easy-to-use formula for assessing the extent to which the effect of one variable on another is mediated by a third. This Mediation Formula is applicable to nonlinear models with both discrete and continuous variables, and permits the evaluation of path-specific effects with minimal assumptions regarding the data-generating process. We demonstrate the use of the Mediation Formula in simple examples and illustrate why parametric methods of analysis yield distorted results, even when parameters are known precisely. We stress the importance of distinguishing between the necessary and sufficient interpretations of "mediated-effect" and show how to estimate the two components in nonlinear systems with continuous and categorical variables.
Indexed as
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22419385What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.