Methods for Modeling Incidence Rates with Application to Pneumonia Among Children in Surat Thani Province, Thailand
Noodchanath Kongchouy, Chamnein Choonpradub, and Metta Kuning* Author for corresponding; e-mail address: nootchanath.k@psu.ac.th, **cchamnein@bunga.pn.psu.ac.th
Volume: Vol.37 No.1 (JANUARY 2010)
Research Article
DOI:
Received: 10 July 2009, Revised: -, Accepted: 29 October 2009, Published: -
Citation: Kongchouy N., Choonpradub C. and Kuning M., Methods for Modeling Incidence Rates with Application to Pneumonia Among Children in Surat Thani Province, Thailand, Chiang Mai Journal of Science, 2010; 37(1): 29-38.
Abstract
In statistical studies, generalized linear models (GLMs) are usually preferred for modeling incidence rates, often with extensions to zero-inflated GLMs when the proportion of zero counts is large. However Warton has shown that for many ecological studies, simple linear models fitted to log-transformed counts do surprisingly well. In this study, we used data comprising a sizable set of pneumonia incidence rates. We compared the negative binomial GLM with a log transformed linear model, and found further support for this simpler alternative method.