  Objective: To investigate the impact of different logistic regression
estimators applied to RDS samples obtained by simulation and real data.
Methods: Four simulated populations were created combining different
connectivity models, levels of clusterization and infection processes. Each
subject in the population received two attributes, only one of them related to
the infection process. From each population, RDS samples with different sizes
were obtained. Similarly, RDS samples were obtained from a real-world dataset.
Three logistic regression estimators were applied to assess the association
between the attributes and the infection status, and subsequently the observed
coverage of each was measured. Results: The type of connectivity had more
impact on estimators performance than the clusterization level. In simulated
datasets, unweighted logistic regression estimators emerged as the best option,
although all estimators showed a fairly good performance. In the real dataset,
the performance of weighted estimators presented some instabilities, making
them a risky option. Conclusion: An unweighted logistic regression estimator is
a reliable option to be applied to RDS samples, with similar performance to
random samples and, therefore, should be the preferred option.
