VALORIS: A privacy-aware logistic regression method for vertically partitioned data within a novel privacy risk assessment framework

Abstract Life sciences research increasingly relies on variables held by different entities, such as clinical, laboratory, environmental, and genomic data. Due to legal, ethical, and social acceptability constraints, these data often cannot be shared across organizations holding them. As a result, they cannot be pooled, and analyses must be conducted within the framework of vertically partitioned data. Supporting such analyses requires methods that protect privacy. However, the mere fact that line-level data are not exchanged should not be mistaken for true privacy protection. We introduce VALORIS (Vertically partitioned Analytics under the LOgistic Regression model for Inference in Statistics), a novel method that enables statistical inference under a logistic regression model without disclosing any individual-level data—including the outcome variable. VALORIS is a practical, communication-efficient algorithm that requires no third-party coordinator. Most importantly, it includes a novel framework for evaluating privacy, allowing users to distinguish among different levels of privacy preservation. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Funding Statement Study funded by FRSQ / CIHR / NSERC Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes