JSM 2004 Online Program

Abstract #302042

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Activity Number:	435
Type:	Contributed
Date/Time:	Thursday, August 12, 2004 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
Sponsor:	SSC
Abstract - #302042
Title:	The Cost of Dichotomization: A Case Study
Author(s):	Yodit Seifu*+
Companies:	Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Address:	1 Healthcare Plaza, East Hanover, NJ, 07936-1080,
Keywords:	logistic regression ; efficiency
Abstract:	Researchers desiring to model glycemic control must decide between treating HbA1C as a continuous variable or discretizing it. We compare the statistical precision obtainable by modeling HbA1C on this two scales. We analyze a dataset containing information on patients with diabetes, including HbA1C levels and various explanatory variables, including indicators of where they were treated. We show mathematically that in general one loses precision when one analyzes data on a dichotomized scale that might otherwise have been analyzed continuously. This is verified by comparing the precision of estimates from these two models. Hence, one ought to analyze similar datasets without dichotomizing the response variable.

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