Pseudo-likelihood estimation for a marginal multivariate survival model

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a multivariate Plackett-Dale model for survival outcomes. A pseudo-likelihood method for the estimation of the parameters is proposed and these ideas are applied to two case studies. The modelling approach is similar in spirit but different from Parner's approach. The first study is in AIDS, where the overall survival time and different opportunistic infections in HIV-infected patients are studied. The second study is on adoption data where the association of the survival times within families is modelled, illustrating the use of the proposed methodology for the context of population genetics.