The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus used by the National Library of Medicine defines logistic regression models
as “statistical models which describe the relationship between a qualitative dependent variable (that is, one which can take
only certain discrete values, such as the presence or absence of a disease) and an independent variable.” Logistic regression
models are used to study effects of predictor variables on categorical outcomes and normally the outcome is binary, such as
presence or absence of disease (e.g., non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma), in which case the model is called a binary logistic model.
When there are multiple predictors (e.g., risk factors and treatments) the model is referred to as a multiple or multivariable
logistic regression model and is one of the most frequently used statistical model in medical journals. In this chapter, we
examine both simple and multiple binary logistic regression models and present related issues, including interaction, categorical
predictor variables, continuous predictor variables, and goodness of fit.
Key Words Interaction – logit – odds ratio – predictive accuracy – sample size