Dr. Denis Talbot, Ph.D., is a regular investigator at the CHU de Québec – Laval University Research Center and professor in biostatistics at the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine of Laval University’s School of Medicine. His research interests focus on the development of statistical methods to perform causal inference and the application of such methods in health research, particularly in cardiovascular health research. Causal inference seeks to predict the effect that a potential intervention would have, for instance the effect of a public health policy or a medical treatment.

Model selection for causal inference

When observational data are utilized to investigate the relationship between an exposure and a disease, there can be variables that are both associated with the exposure and the disease. Such variables, called confounders, may distort the observed relationship between the exposure and the disease, unless adequate control is performed. Unfortunately, identifying confounders solely based on substantive knowledge can be difficult. Moreover, once confounders are identified, an appropriate statistical modeling approach must be employed to eliminate the bias that confounders produce.

One strategy to circumvent these problems would be to use statistical methods to supplement scientific knowledge with the information available in the data. Such methods would facilitate the identification and the control for confounders, and thus facilitate the identification of the causal relationship between the exposure and the disease. An important part of Dr. Talbot’s research program, funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, targets the development of such statistical methods.

Other interests in causal inference

Dr. Talbot is also interested in many other aspects of causal inference, notably in causal mediation methods and treatment regime effects (for example, cumulative exposure, and marginal structural models). He is involved in various collaborative research projects, for instance on health at work, nutrition or physical activity.

Hôpital Saint-Sacrement
1050, chemin Sainte-Foy
J0-03
Québec, Québec
Canada G1S 4L8
denis.talbot@crchudequebe... denis.talbot@fmed.ulaval....

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92 entries « ‹ 1 of 10 › »

Lavigne-Robichaud M, Trudel X, Talbot D, Milot A, Gilbert-Ouimet M, Vézina M, Laurin D, Dionne CE, Pearce N, Dagenais GR, Brisson C

Psychosocial Stressors at Work and Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Men and Women: 18-Year Prospective Cohort Study of Combined Exposures

Journal Article

Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes, 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Carazo S, Skowronski DM, Brisson M, Sauvageau C, Brousseau N, Fafard J, Gilca R, Talbot D, Ouakki M, Febriani Y, Deceuninck G, De Wals P, De Serres G

Effectiveness of previous infection-induced and vaccine-induced protection against hospitalisation due to omicron BA subvariants in older adults: a test-negative, case-control study in Quebec, Canada

Journal Article

Lancet Healthy Longev, 4 (8), 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Mésidor M, Talbot D, Simard M, Blais C, Boiteau V, Sirois C

Sex-specific medication trajectories in older adults newly diagnosed with diabetes

Journal Article

Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm, 11 , 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Sirois C, Gosselin M, Laforce C, Gagnon ME, Talbot D

How does deprescribing (not) reduce mortality? A review of a meta-analysis in community-dwelling older adults casts uncertainty over claimed benefits

Journal Article

Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol, 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Mésidor M, Sirois C, Simard M, Talbot D

A bootstrap approach for evaluating uncertainty in the number of groups identified by latent class growth models

Journal Article

Am J Epidemiol, 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Marx T, Moore L, Talbot D, Guertin JR, Lachapelle P, Blais S, Singbo N, Simonyan D, Lavallée J, Zada N, Shahrigharahkoshan S, Huard B, Olivier P, Mallet M, Létourneau M, Lafrenière M, Archambault PM, Berthelot S

A value-based comparison of the management of respiratory diseases in walk-in clinics and emergency departments

Journal Article

CJEM, 25 (5), 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Duchaine CS, Brisson C, Diorio C, Talbot D, Maunsell E, Carmichael PH, Giguère Y, Gilbert-Ouimet M, Trudel X, Ndjaboué R, Vézina M, Milot A, Mâsse B, Dionne CE, Laurin D

Work-Related Psychosocial Factors and Global Cognitive Function: Are Telomere Length and Low-Grade Inflammation Potential Mediators of This Association

Journal Article

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 20 (6), 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Talbot D, Moodie EEM, Diorio C

Double robust estimation of optimal partially adaptive treatment strategies: An application to breast cancer treatment using hormonal therapy

Journal Article

Stat Med, 42 (2), 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Talbot D, Mésidor M, Chiu Y, Simard M, Sirois C

An Alternative Perspective on the Robust Poisson Method for Estimating Risk or Prevalence Ratios

Journal Article

Epidemiology, 34 (1), 2023.

Abstract | Links:

Carazo S, Skowronski DM, Brisson M, Barkati S, Sauvageau C, Brousseau N, Gilca R, Fafard J, Talbot D, Ouakki M, Gilca V, Carignan A, Deceuninck G, De Wals P, De Serres G

Protection against omicron (B.1.1.529) BA.2 reinfection conferred by primary omicron BA.1 or pre-omicron SARS-CoV-2 infection among health-care workers with and without mRNA vaccination: a test-negative case-control study

Journal Article

Lancet Infect Dis, 23 (1), 2023.

Abstract | Links:

92 entries « ‹ 1 of 10 › »
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Active projects

  • Causal inference methods for adaptive treatment strategies, from 2023-04-01 to 2028-03-31
  • Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), from 2022-04-01 to 2028-03-31
  • Méthodes d'inférence causale pour l'analyse de données médico-administratives et pour la médecine personnalisée, from 2022-07-01 to 2026-06-30
  • Personalized risk-stratified breast cancer follow-up care: a feasibility and acceptability study, from 2023-06-26 to 2026-06-30
  • Prévenir l’hypertension, le diabète de type 2 et les maladies cardiovasculaires en ciblant les stresseurs psychosociaux au travail, les longues heures de travail et les mauvaises habitudes de vie : Des fractions, from 2022-10-01 to 2026-03-31
  • The right care, for the right patient, at the right time, by the right provider: A value-based comparison of the management of ambulatory respiratory diseases in walk-in clinics, primary care physician practices and emergency departments, from 2021-10-01 to 2025-03-31
  • The right care, for the right patient, at the right time, by the right provider: A value-based comparison of the management of ambulatory respiratory diseases in walk-in clinics, primary care physician practices and emergency departments, from 2020-04-01 to 2024-03-31
  • The test-negative design for the estimation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness: design evaluation and development of statistical methods in the evolving context, from 2022-10-01 to 2025-09-30
  • Vers des trajectoires de soins en cancer du sein personnalisées en fonction du risque et des besoins des patientes: une étude de faisabilité et d'acceptabilité, from 2023-04-01 to 2025-03-31

Recently finished projects

  • Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), from 2015-04-01 to 2022-03-31
  • Déterminer la qualité de la polypharmacie chez les aînés : une approche basée sur l’intelligence artificielle, from 2020-04-01 to 2023-03-31
  • Funding to support this manuscript development was provided by the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE)., from 2021-12-01 to 2022-12-31
  • Méthodes d'inférence causale et la prise de décision dans un cadre bayésien, from 2018-04-01 to 2022-03-31
  • Model and variable selection for causal inference., from 2016-04-01 to 2023-03-31
  • Prize 202203PJT - The test-negative design for the estimation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness: design evaluation and development of statistical methods in the evolving context, from 2022-10-01 to 2023-03-31
  • Real-World Evaluation of the Efficacy, Safety and Cost-Effectiveness of Statins for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease Among the Elderly – A Causal Perspective to Treatment Trajectory Analysis, from 2019-10-01 to 2023-03-31
  • Sélection de modèles statistiques pour effectuer de l'inférence causale à l'aide de données épidémiologiques, from 2018-07-01 to 2022-06-30
  • Subvention d'établissement de jeune chercheur, from 2018-07-01 to 2022-06-30
  • The right care, for the right patient, at the right time, by the right provider: A value-based comparison of the management of ambulatory respiratory diseases in walk-in clinics, primary care physician practices and emergency departments, from 2021-03-01 to 2022-02-28
Data provided by the Université Laval research projects registery