Abstract
We present a method for estimating age- and time-specific HIV incidence using back-calculation of AIDS incidence data. Two-dimensional penalized likelihood is employed, using a flexible bivariate step function model of HIV incidence, together with a quadratic roughness penalty which leads to thin-plate spline smoothing. This allows incidence estimates to vary flexibly and smoothly in both age and time. We propose generalized cross-validation as a guide for choice of an appropriate level of smoothing and describe an EM algorithm for computing the estimates. We propose the method primarily for qualitative assessment of trends in age-specific incidence over time and apply it to a small Italian data set on men who have sex with men. The analysis suggests a trend over time of increasing relative incidence among younger individuals, consistent with incidence patterns observed in other countries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1017-1031 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Statistics in Medicine |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 15 May 1998 |
Externally published | Yes |