Exact Logistic Regression Methods And Their Application In The Field Of Medical Genetics

Exact logistic regression is a kind of multiple regression method which base the inference on exact permutational distributions of the sufficient statistics that correspond to the regression parameters of interest, conditional on fixing the sufficient statistics of the remaining parameters at their observed values. It shows many good features such as "exact" and "reliable" especially for data sets with small sample size or unbalanced structure. And with the development of computer technology and optimization of numerical algorithms, the application of exact logistic regression is becoming reality stepwisely. This paper expatiates the theory, model and inference method systematically, demonstrates the applicable numerical algorithms with example also, and analysis several real examples in the area of medical genetics. It is showed that the methodology of exact logistic regression is mature and reliable, it has many advantages, such as the consistency of estimation, the existence of inference and the accuracy of results. On the contrary it has disadvantages, such as the complexity of computation and the conservatism of hypothesis tests. And the analysis of real examples also shows that the application of exact logistic regression can solve problems such as small sample size or unbalanced structure in some studies in the area of medical genetics, and it draws the conclusion that the exact logistic regression method has good applicability in the area of medical genetics.