Prospective Competing Risks Analysis

Prospective competing risks analysis is an observational study design that follows participants forward in time from a well-defined starting point, recording all events — including those that prevent the primary event from occurring — and then estimates cause-specific incidence while correctly accounting for competing outcomes. It combines the temporal clarity of prospective cohort follow-up with the statistical rigor of competing risks methodology to avoid the overestimation inherent in standard Kaplan-Meier curves when multiple event types are present.