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factor levels

To: <s-news@lists.biostat.wustl.edu>
Subject: factor levels
From: "natalie nicholls (IAH-C)" <natalie.nicholls@bbsrc.ac.uk>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2005 15:01:06 -0000
Thread-index: AcUbSjQfx6FUUnEASxC93L1Gqrcvzg==
Thread-topic: factor levels
Dear users,
In coxph - what does S use as the reference level in its output: 

For example:

       coef exp(coef) se(coef)       z    p 
V151  3.263    26.136   24.427  0.1336 0.89
V152  1.004     2.729    8.149  0.1232 0.90
V153  0.227     1.255    4.080  0.0556 0.96
V154  0.136     1.146    2.452  0.0556 0.96
V155 -0.772     0.462    3.989 -0.1935 0.85
V156  0.188     1.207    1.279  0.1471 0.88
V157  0.204     1.226    0.959  0.2127 0.83
V158  0.340     1.405    0.745  0.4568 0.65

where V151 etc, are different levels of a factor. I am looking at the effects 
of Year of Birth, the levels are:

"1991", "1992", "1993", "1994", "1995", "1996", "1997", "1998", "1999"

so is Splus comparing each year to 1991 (so V151 is 1992), or to 1999 (so V151 
is 1991), or just to each previous year in the list (so V151 is 1992, and is 
compared to 1991, with V152 being compared to V151 anad so on)?

Natalie

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