A marginalized multilevel model for bivariate longitudinal binary data

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Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Edebiyat Fakültesi, İstatistik Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2014

Öğrenci: GÜL İNAN

Danışman: ÖZLEM İLK DAĞ

Özet:

This thesis study considers analysis of bivariate longitudinal binary data. We propose a model based on marginalized multilevel model framework. The proposed model consists of two levels such that the first level associates the marginal mean of responses with covariates through a logistic regression model and the second level includes subject/time specific random intercepts within a probit regression model. The covariance matrix of multiple correlated time-specific random intercepts for each subject is assumed to represent the within-subject association. The subject-specific random effects covariance matrix is further decomposed into its dependence and variance components through modified Cholesky decomposition method to handle possible computational and statistical problems that may be associated with its high-dimensionality. Then the unconstrained version of resulting parameters are modelled in terms of covariates with low-dimensional regression parameters, which provides better explanations related to dependence and variance parameters and a reduction in the number of parameters to be estimated in random effects covariance matrix to avoid possible identifiability problems. Marginal correlations between responses of subjects and within the responses of a subject are derived through a Taylor series-based approximation. Data cloning computational algorithm is used to compute the maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters in the proposed model and their standard errors. The validity of the proposed model is assessed through a Monte Carlo simulation study under different scenarios, and results are observed to be at acceptable level. Lastly, the proposed model is illustrated through Mother’s Stress and Children’s Morbidity study data, where both population-averaged and subject-specific interpretations are drawn through Emprical Bayes estimation of random effects.