Beta-binomial/gamma-Poisson regression models for repeated counts with random parameters

Abstract

Beta-binomial/Poisson models have been used by many authors to model multivariate count data. Lora and Singer (Statistics in Medicine, 2008) extended such models to accommodate repeated multivariate count data with overdipersion in the binomial component. To overcome some of the limitations of that model, we consider a beta-binomial/gamma-Poisson alternative that also allows for both overdispersion and different covariances between the Poisson counts. We obtain maximum likelihood estimates for the parameters using a Newton-Raphson algorithm and compare both models in a practical example.