Home Novel Point Estimation from a Semiparametric Ratio Estimator (SPRE): Long-Term Health Outcomes from Short-Term Linear Data, with Application to Weight Loss in Obesity
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Novel Point Estimation from a Semiparametric Ratio Estimator (SPRE): Long-Term Health Outcomes from Short-Term Linear Data, with Application to Weight Loss in Obesity

  • Deborah Weissman-Miller EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: November 2, 2013

Abstract

Point estimation is particularly important in predicting weight loss in individuals or small groups. In this analysis, a new health response function is based on a model of human response over time to estimate long-term health outcomes from a change point in short-term linear regression. This important estimation capability is addressed for small groups and single-subject designs in pilot studies for clinical trials, medical and therapeutic clinical practice. These estimations are based on a change point given by parameters derived from short-term participant data in ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. The development of the change point in initial OLS data and the point estimations are given in a new semiparametric ratio estimator (SPRE) model. The new response function is taken as a ratio of two-parameter Weibull distributions times a prior outcome value that steps estimated outcomes forward in time, where the shape and scale parameters are estimated at the change point. The Weibull distributions used in this ratio are derived from a Kelvin model in mechanics taken here to represent human beings. A distinct feature of the SPRE model in this article is that initial treatment response for a small group or a single subject is reflected in long-term response to treatment. This model is applied to weight loss in obesity in a secondary analysis of data from a classic weight loss study, which has been selected due to the dramatic increase in obesity in the United States over the past 20 years. A very small relative error of estimated to test data is shown for obesity treatment with the weight loss medication phentermine or placebo for the test dataset. An application of SPRE in clinical medicine or occupational therapy is to estimate long-term weight loss for a single subject or a small group near the beginning of treatment.

References

1. ThompsonCK. Single subject controlled experiments in aphasia: the science and the state of the science. NIH Public Access, 2007. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1847620/. Accessed: 20 Apr 2010.Search in Google Scholar

2. MunroJF, MacCuishAC, WilsonEM, DuncanLIJ. Comparison of continuous and intermittent therapy in obesity. Br Med J1968;1:3524.10.1136/bmj.1.5588.352Search in Google Scholar

3. BrayGA. Drug treatment of obesity. In: WaddenTA, StunkardAJ, editors. Handbook of obesity treatment. New York:The Guilford Press (paperback edition), 2002:31738.Search in Google Scholar

4. CDC (2009). Overweight and obesity; Obesity Trends. Retrieved April 20, 2010 from http://www.cdc.gov/.Search in Google Scholar

5. Weissman-BermanD. Viscoelastic model for an FRP sandwich beam. Invited Paper, Second International Conference on Sandwich Construction, University of Florida, Conference Edition, Volume I, 9–12 March 1992: SANDWICH CONSTRUCTIONS 2, Vol. 1, 3–33, EMAS, Engineering Materials Advisory Services, Ltd, 1992.Search in Google Scholar

6. BerkRA. Regression analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2004.Search in Google Scholar

7. WeisbergS. Applied linear regression. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2005.Search in Google Scholar

8. KhodadadiA, AsgharianM. Change-point problem and regression: an annotated bibliography. This working paper is hosted by The Berkeley Electronic Press (bepress) and may not be commercially reproduced without the permission of the copyright holder, 2008. Available at: http://biostats.bepress.com/cobra/ps/art44.Search in Google Scholar

9. WuB. Differential gene expression detection using penalized linear regression models: the improved SAM statistics,2005. Available at: http://bioinformatics.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/21/8/1565. Accessed: 22 Mar 2007.10.1093/bioinformatics/bti217Search in Google Scholar

10. Weissman-MillerD, ShotwellMP, MillerRJ. New single-subject and small n design in occupational therapy: application to weight loss in obesity. AJOT2012;66:45562.10.5014/ajot.2012.004788Search in Google Scholar

11. BrownSC, HumphreysRM, McKibbonWA, WilsonBP. A healthy lifestyles program for Latino children in an urban community setting: a pilot study (Master’s thesis). Gainesville, GA: Brenau University, 2012.Search in Google Scholar

12. R Development Core Team. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria, 2010. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. Available at: http://www.R-project.org.Search in Google Scholar

13. FoxJ. The R Commander: A Basic-Statistics Graphical User Interface to R. Journal of Statistical Software. 2005; 14(9).10.18637/jss.v014.i09Search in Google Scholar

14. HeibergerRM, NeuwirthE. R through excel. New York: Springer, 2009.10.1007/978-1-4419-0052-4Search in Google Scholar

15. TIBCO. S-plus statistical software: ver. 8.0.4. Palo alto, CA: TIBCO spotfire S+ ®, 2009.Search in Google Scholar

16. FarawayJJ. Linear models with R. New York: Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2005.Search in Google Scholar

17. Weissman-BermanD, MillerR, MartinL. A predictive model for evidence-based practice in occupational therapy: from a single subject to the world. Research paper presentation, American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference, April 2008.Search in Google Scholar

18. Weissman-MillerD. A novel semiparametric ratio estimator (SPRE): a key to predicting long-term weight loss in obesity. JSM Proceedings, 2010.Search in Google Scholar

19. Weissman-MillerD, MillerRJ. New single-subject and small-group design, with application to estimating weight loss in obesity. Research presentation, American Occupational Therapy Association Conference, 2011.Search in Google Scholar

20. LinkCC, ParkmanCD, FrameHR. The effects of the alert program on the communication and interaction skills of adults with developmental disabilities (DD) who display atypical sensory profile processing during group activities (Master’s thesis). Gainesville, GA: Brenau University, 2012.Search in Google Scholar

21. AklonisJJ, MacKnightWJ. Introduction to polymer viscoelasticity. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1983.Search in Google Scholar

22. MillsNJ. Plastics: microstructure, properties and applications. New York: Halsted Press, 1993.Search in Google Scholar

23. ClevesMA, GouldWW, GutierrezRG. An introduction to survival analysis using STATA (Revised ed.). College Station, TX: Stata Press, 2004.Search in Google Scholar

24. HosmerDH, LemeshowS, MayS. Applied survival analysis: regression modeling of time-to-event data, 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Interscience, 2008.10.1002/9780470258019Search in Google Scholar

25. Weissman-BermanD. Predicting long term response to treatment for prostate cancer based on short term linear regression. Presentation at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of FSU’s Statistics Department, 17–18 Apr 2009.Search in Google Scholar

26. AronA, GuoH, MettasA, OgdenD. Improving the 1-parameter Weibull. IEEE,2009. Available at: http://www.reliasoft.com/pubs/2009_RAMS_improving_weibull_bayesian.pdf. Accessed: Mar 2010.Search in Google Scholar

27. MengX-L. On the absolute bias ratio of ratio estimators. Stat Probability Lett1993;18:3458.10.1016/0167-7152(93)90026-FSearch in Google Scholar

28. FreundJE, WalpoleRE. Mathematical statistics, 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1987.Search in Google Scholar

29. RiceJA. Mathematical statistics and data analysis, 2nd ed. CA: Duxbury Press, 1995.Search in Google Scholar

30. TobiasPA, TrindadeDC. Applied reliability, 2nd ed. New York: CRC Press, 1995.Search in Google Scholar

31. DonnerA. Linear regression analysis with repeated measures. J Chronic Dis1984;37:4418.10.1016/0021-9681(84)90027-4Search in Google Scholar

32. BrownellKD, WaddenTA. The LEARN program for weight control: special medication addition. American health. In: WaddenTA, StunkardAJ, editors. Handbook of obesity treatment. New York:The Guilford Press (paperback edition), 1998:383394.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2013-11-02

©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin / Boston

Downloaded on 29.10.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijb-2012-0049/html
Scroll to top button