The GENMOD Procedure

LSMEANS Statement

  • LSMEANS <model-effects> </ options>;

The LSMEANS statement computes and compares least squares means (LS-means) of fixed effects. LS-means are predicted population margins—that is, they estimate the marginal means over a balanced population. In a sense, LS-means are to unbalanced designs as class and subclass arithmetic means are to balanced designs.

Table 5 summarizes the options available in the LSMEANS statement. If you specify the BAYES statement, the ADJUST=, STEPDOWN, and LINES options are ignored. The PLOTS= option is not available for a maximum likelihood analysis; it is available only for a Bayesian analysis.

If you specify a zero-inflated model (that is, a model for either the zero-inflated Poisson or the zero-inflated negative binomial distribution), then the least squares means are computed only for effects in the model for the distribution mean, and not for effects in the zero-inflation probability part of the model.

Table 5: LSMEANS Statement Options

Option Description
Construction and Computation of LS-Means
AT Modifies the covariate value in computing LS-means
BYLEVEL Computes separate margins
DIFF Computes differences of LS-means
OM= Specifies the weighting scheme for LS-means computation as determined by the input data set
SINGULAR= Tunes estimability checking
Degrees of Freedom and p-Values
ADJUST= Determines the method of multiple-comparison adjustment of LS-means differences
ALPHA=alpha Determines the confidence level (1 minus alpha)
STEPDOWN Adjusts multiple-comparison p-values further in a step-down fashion
Statistical Output
ASC Sorts LS-means in ascending order in results that you display by specifying the LINES option
CL Constructs confidence limits for means and mean differences
CORR Displays the correlation matrix of LS-means
COV Displays the covariance matrix of LS-means
E Prints the bold upper L matrix
LINES Uses connecting lines to indicate nonsignificantly different subsets of LS-means
LINESTABLE Displays the results of the LINES option as a table
MEANS Prints the LS-means
PLOTS= Produces graphs of means and mean comparisons
SEED= Specifies the seed for computations that depend on random numbers
Generalized Linear Modeling
EXP Exponentiates and displays estimates of LS-means or LS-means differences
ILINK Computes and displays estimates and standard errors of LS-means (but not differences) on the inverse linked scale
ODDSRATIO Reports (simple) differences of least squares means in terms of odds ratios if permitted by the link function


For details about the syntax of the LSMEANS statement, see the section LSMEANS Statement in Chapter 20, Shared Concepts and Topics.

Last updated: December 09, 2022