Evaluation of optimization techniques for variable selection in logistic regression applied to diagnosis of...

Logistic regression is often used to help make medical decisions with binary outcomes. Here we evaluate the use of several methods for selection of variables in logistic regression. We use a large dataset to predict the diagnosis of myocardial infarction in patients reporting to an emergency room with chest pain. Our results indicate that some of the examined methods are well suited for variable selection in logistic regression and that our model, and our myocardial infarction risk calculator, can be an additional tool to aid physicians in myocardial infarction diagnosis.