Multiple mediators, causal assumptions and potential caveats

Jeffrey N Bone^{1

2}, Cande V Ananth^{3

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Biostatistics, Clinical Research Support Unit, British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
³ Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and Department of Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
⁵ Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
⁶ Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

Editorial

Jeffrey N Bone et al. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2024 May.

. 2024 May;38(4):313-315.

doi: 10.1111/ppe.13066. Epub 2024 Feb 28.

Jeffrey N Bone^{1

2}, Cande V Ananth^{3

4

5

6}

¹ Biostatistics, Clinical Research Support Unit, British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
³ Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and Department of Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
⁵ Cardiovascular Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
⁶ Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

No abstract available

References

1. VanderWeele T. Explanation in causal inference: methods for mediation and interaction. Oxford University Press; 2015:728.
1. Rosenquist NA, Richards M, Ferber JR, et al. Maternal obesity and childhood asthma risk: exploring mediating pathways. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2024;38(4):302‐312. doi: 10.1111/ppe.13023
1. Liu S, Zhou B, Wang Y, Wang K, Zhang Z, Niu W. Pre‐pregnancy maternal weight and gestational weight gain increase the risk for childhood asthma and wheeze: an updated meta‐analysis. Front Pediatr. 2020;8:134.
1. VanderWeele TJ, Vansteelandt S, Robins JM. Effect decomposition in the presence of an exposure‐induced mediator‐outcome confounder. Epidemiology. 2014;25(2):300‐306.
1. Vansteelandt S, Daniel RM. Interventional effects for mediation analysis with multiple mediators. Epidemiology. 2017;28(2):258‐265.