ArticleEuropean journal of epidemiology2019
A comparison of different methods to handle missing data in the context of propensity score analysis.
Article in European journal of epidemiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed.
- Target Trial Emulation and Bias Through Missing Eligibility Data: An Application to a Study of Palivizumab for the Prevention of Hospitalization Due to Infant Respiratory Illness.American journal of epidemiology · 2023Trial
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- Target Trial Emulation: Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist, Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors, Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors for Kidney Outcome Prevention.Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN · 2026Article
- Enhancing propensity score analysis with data missing not at random: Introducing dual-forest proximity imputation.Behavior research methods · 2026Article
- Missingness in Eligibility Criteria for Target Trial Emulation in EHR With Survival Outcomes.Statistics in medicine · 2026Article
- Clinical Outcomes of 5000 IU Heparin Versus Activated Clotting Time-Guided Heparinization During Noncardiac Arterial Procedures: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis.Journal of endovascular therapy : an official journal of the International Society of Endovascular Specialists · 2026Article
- Food Insecurity and the Nexus of Co-Occurring Parental Distress and Child Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2026Article
- No Partner, No Children? Union Formation, Assortative Mating, and Educational Inequalities in Fertility in Germany.European journal of population = Revue europeenne de demographie · 2026Article
- Evaluation and improvement of algorithmic fairness for COVID-19 severity classification using Explainable Artificial Intelligence-based bias mitigation.JAMIA open · 2026Article
- Post-acute healthcare expenditure following COVID-19 hospitalization and associated social inequalities in Belgium: a matched cohort study.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Pre-Referral Antibiotics and Mortality Among Adults With Sepsis in Southeast Asia: A Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study.Critical care medicine · 2026Article
- Outcome-Assisted Multiple Imputation of Missing Treatments.Observational studies · 2026Article
- Plant-based diets especially healthy ones are negatively associated with depression: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Gender differences in the relationships between weekday sleep duration, weekend catch-up sleep, and hypertension.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Beyond the Plate: the Role of Food Insecurity Trajectories in Shaping Child Emotional and Conduct Problems.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2025Article
- Continuation Versus Discontinuation of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors and Cardiorenal Outcomes Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease: A Nationwide Cohort Study With a Target Trial Emulation Framework.Clinical and translational science · 2025Article
- Comparison of the Risk of Pneumonia Between Fluticasone Furoate/Umeclidinium/Vilanterol and Multiple-Inhaler Triple Therapy in Patients with COPD Using Health Insurance Claims Data: Final Analysis of Post-Marketing Database Surveillance in Japan.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Incorporation of missing indicator with multiple imputation in propensity score analysis with partially observed covariates: A simulation study.Statistical methods in medical research · 2025Article
- Type 2 diabetes, metabolic health, and the development of frozen shoulder: a cohort study in UK electronic health records.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Outcomes for people experiencing homelessness with COVID-19 presenting to emergency departments in Canada, compared with housed patients.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2025Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Propensity score analysis is a popular method to control for confounding in observational studies. A challenge in propensity methods is missing values in confounders. Several strategies for handling missing values exist, but guidance in choosing the best method is needed. In this simulation study, we compared four strategies of handling missing covariate values in propensity matching and propensity weighting. These methods include: complete case analysis, missing indicator method, multiple imputation and combining multiple imputation and missing indicator method. Concurrently, we aimed to provide guidance in choosing the optimal strategy. Simulated scenarios varied regarding missing mechanism, presence of effect modification or unmeasured confounding. Additionally, we demonstrated how missingness graphs help clarifying the missing structure. When no effect modification existed, complete case analysis yielded valid causal treatment effects even when data were missing not at random. In some situations, complete case analysis was also able to partially correct for unmeasured confounding. Multiple imputation worked well if the data were missing (completely) at random, and if the imputation model was correctly specified. In the presence of effect modification, more complex imputation models than default options of commonly used statistical software were required. Multiple imputation may fail when data are missing not at random. Here, combining multiple imputation and the missing indicator method reduced the bias as the missing indicator variable can be a proxy for unobserved confounding. The optimal way to handle missing values in covariates of propensity score models depends on the missing data structure and the presence of effect modification. When effect modification is present, default settings of imputation methods may yield biased results even if data are missing at random.
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