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4095453 
Journal Article 
Berkson's bias, selection bias, and missing data 
Westreich, D 
2012 
Yes 
Epidemiology
ISSN: 1044-3983
EISSN: 1531-5487 
23 
1 
159-164 
English 
22081062 
Although Berkson's bias is widely recognized in the epidemiologic literature, it remains underappreciated as a model of both selection bias and bias due to missing data. Simple causal diagrams and 2 × 2 tables illustrate how Berkson's bias connects to collider bias and selection bias more generally, and show the strong analogies between Berksonian selection bias and bias due to missing data. In some situations, considerations of whether data are missing at random or missing not at random are less important than the causal structure of the missing data process. Although dealing with missing data always relies on strong assumptions about unobserved variables, the intuitions built with simple examples can provide a better understanding of approaches to missing data in real-world situations.