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Journal of Computer Science & Systems Biology | ISSN: 0974-7230 | Volume: 11
&
Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
Big Data Analytics & Data Mining
7
th
International Conference on
7
th
International Conference on
September 26-27, 2018 | Chicago, USA
Adiscrete logit survival model with a smooth baseline hazard for age at first alcohol intake among students
at tertiary institutions in Thohoyandou, South Africa
Alphonce Bere
University of Venda, South Africa
W
e employ a discrete logit survival model to investigate the risk factors for early alcohol intake among students at two tertiary
institutions in Thohoyandou, South Africa. Data were collected from a sample of 744 students using a self-administered
questionnaire. Significant covariates were arrived at through a regularization algorithm implemented using the glmmLasso package.
The tuning parameter was determined using a five-fold cross-validation algorithm. The baseline hazard was modeled as a smooth
function of time through the use of spline functions. The results show that the hazard of initial alcohol intake peaks at the age of
about 16 years and that at any given time, being of a male gender, prior use of other drugs, having drinking peers, having experienced
negative life events and physical abuse are associated with a higher risk of alcohol intake debut.
alphonce.bere@univen.ac.zaJ Comput Sci Syst Biol 2018, Volume: 11
DOI: 10.4172/0974-7230-C1-021