• Kenneth J Ottenbacher, Heather R Ottenbacher, Leigh Tooth, and Glenn V Ostir.
• Division of Rehabilitation Sciences and Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-1137, USA. kottenba@utmb.edu
• J Clin Epidemiol. 2004 Nov 1;57(11):1147-52.

Background And ObjectiveTo examine if commonly recommended assumptions for multivariable logistic regression are addressed in two major epidemiological journals.MethodsNinety-nine articles from the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and the American Journal of Epidemiology were surveyed for 10 criteria: six dealing with computation and four with reporting multivariable logistic regression results.ResultsThree of the 10 criteria were addressed in 50% or more of the articles. Statistical significance testing or confidence intervals were reported in all articles. Methods for selecting independent variables were described in 82%, and specific procedures used to generate the models were discussed in 65%. Fewer than 50% of the articles indicated if interactions were tested or met the recommended events per independent variable ratio of 10:1. Fewer than 20% of the articles described conformity to a linear gradient, examined collinearity, reported information on validation procedures, goodness-of-fit, discrimination statistics, or provided complete information on variable coding. There was no significant difference (P>.05) in the proportion of articles meeting the criteria across the two journals.ConclusionArticles reviewed frequently did not report commonly recommended assumptions for using multivariable logistic regression.

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