my %sql_count_A_Ref_vs_Comp; my %sth_Count_Ref_vs_Comp; for (qw( A B C D )) { $sth_Count_Ref_vs_Comp{$_} = $dbh_B->prepare($sql_count_A_Ref_vs_Comp{$_}) or die "Cannot prepare: " . $dbh_B->errstr(); $sth_Count_Ref_vs_Comp{$_}->execute() or die "$sth_Count_Ref_vs_Comp{$_}->errstr\n"; }