Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.

Bayesian symmetric regression offers a principled framework for modeling data characterized by heavy-tailed errors and censoring, both of which are frequently encountered in medical research. Classical regression methods often yield unreliable results in the presence of outliers or incomplete observ...

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Main Authors: Mehmet Ali Cengiz, Talat Şenel, Muhammed Kara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329589
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author Mehmet Ali Cengiz
Talat Şenel
Muhammed Kara
author_facet Mehmet Ali Cengiz
Talat Şenel
Muhammed Kara
author_sort Mehmet Ali Cengiz
collection DOAJ
description Bayesian symmetric regression offers a principled framework for modeling data characterized by heavy-tailed errors and censoring, both of which are frequently encountered in medical research. Classical regression methods often yield unreliable results in the presence of outliers or incomplete observations, as commonly seen in clinical and survival data. To address these limitations, we develop a robust Bayesian regression model that incorporates symmetric error distributions such as the Student-t and Cauchy, providing improved resistance to extreme values. The model also explicitly accounts for both right and left censoring through its likelihood structure. Inference is performed using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), allowing for accurate estimation of uncertainty. The proposed approach is validated through simulation studies and two real-world medical applications: lung cancer survival analysis and hospital stay duration modeling. Results indicate that the model consistently outperforms traditional methods when dealing with noisy, censored, and non-Gaussian data, highlighting its potential for broad use in medical statistics and health outcome research.
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spelling doaj-art-3ec2aa2dcaf4466fbc5ebc150f4b76af2025-08-20T03:41:10ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01208e032958910.1371/journal.pone.0329589Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.Mehmet Ali CengizTalat ŞenelMuhammed KaraBayesian symmetric regression offers a principled framework for modeling data characterized by heavy-tailed errors and censoring, both of which are frequently encountered in medical research. Classical regression methods often yield unreliable results in the presence of outliers or incomplete observations, as commonly seen in clinical and survival data. To address these limitations, we develop a robust Bayesian regression model that incorporates symmetric error distributions such as the Student-t and Cauchy, providing improved resistance to extreme values. The model also explicitly accounts for both right and left censoring through its likelihood structure. Inference is performed using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC), allowing for accurate estimation of uncertainty. The proposed approach is validated through simulation studies and two real-world medical applications: lung cancer survival analysis and hospital stay duration modeling. Results indicate that the model consistently outperforms traditional methods when dealing with noisy, censored, and non-Gaussian data, highlighting its potential for broad use in medical statistics and health outcome research.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329589
spellingShingle Mehmet Ali Cengiz
Talat Şenel
Muhammed Kara
Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.
PLoS ONE
title Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.
title_full Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.
title_fullStr Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.
title_full_unstemmed Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.
title_short Bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy-tailed errors and censoring.
title_sort bayesian robust symmetric regression for medical data with heavy tailed errors and censoring
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0329589
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