Measuring cause-specific mortality?

This question is not so easy to answer, even when using data from a randomized trial.  Further, many studies do not have the statistical power to identify cause-specific mortality.  Consider the following example from Kim and Thompson: Consider a trial of an intervention only influencing a single cause of death, or a few specific causes…

Kaplan-Meier Survival Curves

Survival analysis is used in many contexts.  Some examples include: Medical research: fraction of patients living for a certain amount of time after treatment. Economics: length of time people remain unemployed after a job loss. Engineering: time until failure of machine parts. Ecology: how long fleshy fruits remain on plants before they are removed by…