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There is a mathematical relation
between a survival function and a hazard function (e.g. Fisher & van Belle,1993: Chp.
16). The survival functions in slide 17 give hazard functions that look roughly like those
shown in this slide. On the left panel, the two hazard functions have roughly the same
patterns. A lower hazard function (blue line) indicates a survival function that is decreasing less sharply. The ratio
of hazard given by the blue line
divided by that of the red line
is approximately 0.6 at any time; hence proportional hazard is true. On the right panel,
initially the red line is above
the blue line, but they cross
over at about time 12. The hazard ratio moves from below one (blue group better) to above
one (blue group worse), violating the proportional hazard assumption. |