Stochastic Modeling Techniques and Data Analysis International Conference
Abstract
Generalised estimating equation (GEE) models are extensions of generalised
linear models by relaxing the assumption of independence. These models are appropriate
to analyze correlated longitudinal responses which follow any distribution that is a member
of the exponential family. This model is used to relate daily mortality rate of Maltese
adults aged 65 years and over with a number of predictors, including apparent temperature,
season and year. To accommodate the right skewed mortality rate distribution a Gamma
distribution is assumed. An identity link function is used for ease of interpretating the
parameter estimates. An autoregressive correlation structure of order 1 is used since
correlations decrease as distance between observations increases. The study shows that
mortality rate and temperature are related by a quadratic function. Moreover, the GEE
model identifies a number of significant main and interaction effects which shed light on
the effect of weather predictors on daily mortality rates.peer-reviewe