An application of a microcomputer compiler program to multiple logistic regression analysis

Microcomputer programs for multiple logistic regression analysis were written in BASIC language to determine the usefulness of microcomputers for multivariate analysis, which is an important method in epidemiological studies. The program, carried out by an interpreter system, required a comparatively long computing time for a small amount of data. For example, it took approximately thirty minutes to compute the data of 6 independent variables and 63 matched sets of case and controls (1:4). The majority of the calculation time was spent computing a matrix. The matrix computation time increased cumulatively in proportion to additions in the number of subjects, and increased exponentially with the number of variables. A BASIC compiler was utilized for the program of multiple logistic regression analysis. The compiled program carried out the same computations as above, but within 4 minutes. Therefore, it is evident that a compiler can be an extremely convenient tool for computing multivariate analysis. The two programs produced here were also easily linked with spreadsheet packages to enter data.