Competing risks

Competing risks refer to situations where different events can prevent an outcome from occurring. For example, if you're studying the life expectancy of patients with a certain disease, death from other causes (like accidents or other illnesses) competes with the disease as an outcome. In research, understanding these competing events is crucial, as they can influence how we interpret rates of occurrence or survival. Instead of just looking at one event in isolation, competing risks help provide a clearer picture of all possible outcomes that could affect the situation.