Non‐parametric estimation of the case fatality ratio with competing risks data: an application to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)

AbstractFor diseases with some level of associated mortality, the case fatality ratio measures the proportion of diseased individuals who die from the disease. In principle, it is straightforward to estimate this quantity from individual follow‐up data that provides times from onset to death or recovery. In particular, in a competing risks context, the case fatality ratio is defined by the limiting value of the sub‐distribution function, F1(t) = Pr(T ⩽t and J = 1), associated with death, as t → ∞, where T denotes the time from onset to death (J = 1) or recovery (J = 2). When censoring is present, however, estimation of F1(∞) is complicated by the possibility of little information regarding the right tail of F1, requiring use of estimators of F1(t*) or F1(t*)/(F1(t*)+F2(t*)) where t* is large, with F2(t) = Pr(T ⩽t and J = 2) being the analogous sub‐distribution function associated with recovery. With right censored data, the variability of such estimators increases as t* increases, suggesting the possibility of using estimators at lower values of t* where bias may be increased but overall mean squared error be smaller. These issues are investigated here for non‐parametric estimators of F1 and F2. The ideas are illustrated on case fatality data for individuals infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong in 2003. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.