Regarding the request for assistance below
"This is an expansion on a previous theme, for which I am indebted to Austin Nichols for advice.
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To recap: I have a dataset of 1341 observations of cancer patients having a subsequent malignancy. I have calculated the period at risk in proportions of a year for each observation
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I need to extract the values from a life table. I need to 'insert' blank records for the missing records (e.g. 40, 43 and 46) and extrapolate the relevant data. Any suggestions would be welcome.
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Having been able to spend some time with Statalist FAQs I now realise that (a) I am working with 'time series data', (b) an easy resolution can be obtained by using -tsset- and -tsfill- and (c) there is a whole manual devoted to time series analysis.
I believe there is an expression that goes "a little knowledge can be dangerous" - an addendum should perhaps be "especially in the absence of appropriate language to describe any problem arising from using that knowledge". My previous message could have been condensed into a couple of sentences and I could have answered it myself. Apologies.
Dave
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