Re: st: summing variables that have similar names

[Richard Goldstein <richgold@ix.netcom.com>]

use -egen- rather than -gen-

you do not need a loop

Rich

MAY BAYDOUN wrote:
> Dear Statalisters,
>
> I was wondering if someone can help me figure out this:
>
> I have several variables that are mutually exclusive. In other words, if one has a value, the others are missing. I want to sum them into a single variable so that all observations have a value. They start with the same few letters, say xyz but have different letters or numbers thereafter.
>
> I tried: gen newvar=sum(xyz*) but it didn't work out. Is there another way to do this? I am guessing a loop?
>
> Thanks a lot for any help you can provide,
>
> Best,
>
> May
>
>
> May Baydoun, PhD in Epidemiology (UNC-Chapel Hill)  Staff Scientist,  National Institute on Aging, NIH/IRP,  Biomedical Research Center,  Baltimore, MD
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