The Biometrical Journal invites submissions to a Special Issue on Hazards, Time-to-event Analysis and Causal Reasoning. This special issue has been set up by the Editorial Board of the Biometrical Journal in the format of a Virtual Special Collection following the discussion paper from Jan Beyersmann, Claudia Schoor and Martin Schumacher on “Hazards constitute key quantities for analyzing, interpreting and understanding time-to-event data” published online on 6 June 2025 as Biometrical Journal, 2025; 67:e70057  [https://doi.org/10.1002/bimj.70057].

Motivated by vivid and fruitful discussions during the review process of this paper and recognizing the far-ranging relevance of hazard-based modelling and contrasts/ratios in biomedicine, the Editorial board considered a Special Issue appropriate to advance causal reasoning in the context of complex time-to-event data and to channel ongoing discussions on the role of the hazard.

 Scope of Interest

We welcome contributions covering data modeling and data analysis methods, definition of endpoints/estimands, and outcome assessment for time-to-event data collected in clinical and epidemiological studies with particular focus on causal reasoning. Contributions may discuss the paper of Beyersmann et al. (2025), or make original contributions in line with the theme. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

• questions of identifiability of hazard (functions) under different assumptions and modelling of the censoring process which can pose its own challenges for a causal interpretation;
• the conditional nature of the hazard function given previous life history, especially in view of potential frailty, and the potential for collider effects/collider bias;
• the distinction between population, subgroup and individual hazards which is related to the question of collapsibility;
• causal approaches using potential outcomes, counterfactual or similar notation concepts to clarify assumptions and estimands;
• complexities and novel ideas of modeling and data analysis regarding non-proportional or piece-wise constant hazards, time-varying or post-randomization effects;
• alternative approaches not based on the modelling of hazard functions;
• competing events, multiple treatments and sequential treatments with/without randomization.

 Submission Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit papers that discuss Beyersmann et al. (2025), as well as original research articles, case studies and reviews related to the theme of this Special Issue.

All submissions should adhere to the journal’s guidelines for manuscript preparation and formatting  – see https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/15214036/homepage/forauthors.html.

Notably, manuscripts should be submitted online via the journal’s submission system, indicating that they are intended for consideration in the Special Issue Virtual Special Collection (SI-VSC) on Hazards, Time-To-Event Analysis and Causal Reasoning.

Note that authors will be expected to be available as reviewers for other papers submitted to the special issue.

Submission Deadline: 28 February 2026

Guest Editors: Vanessa Didelez, Nan van Geloven, Ruth Keogh, Lutz Edler, Matthias Schmid

Contact Information: For inquiries regarding scope and content of your submission you may contact any one of the guest editors stating, e.g., your intended title and rough abstract. Furthermore, for any technical questions and inquiries after submission, you may contact Lutz Edler (lutzedler@gmx.de).

We look forward to receiving your submissions and advancing the understanding and application of statistical methods on hazards, time-to-event analysis and causal reasoning.