title: Statistical analysis of longitudinal quality of life data with missing measurements.
abstract: The statistical analysis of longitudinal quality of life data in the presence of missing data is discussed. In cancer trials missing data are generated due to the fact that patients die, drop out, or are censored. These missing data are problematic in the monitoring of the quality of life during the trial. However, by means of assuming that the cause of the missing data lies in the observed history of the patients and not in their unobserved future, the missing data are ignorable. Consequently, all available data can be used to estimate quality of life change patterns with time. The computations that are required are illustrated with real quality of life data and three commonly used computer packages for statistical analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics, University of Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zwinderman
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology / Q000556:secondary; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D011788:Quality of Life