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Assessment of publication bias in meta-analyses of cardiovascular diseases.
- Source :
- Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health; Oct2005, Vol. 59 Issue 10, p864-869, 6p, 5 Charts
- Publication Year :
- 2005
-
Abstract
- Objective: To examine variables related with publication bias assessment in a sample of systematic reviews with meta-analysis on cardiovascular diseases. Design: Systematic review of meta-analyses. Setting: Journals indexed in Medline and the Cochrane Library. Study population: 225 reviews with meta-analysis published between 1990 and 2002. Data collection: Data from meta-analyses were gathered according to a structured protocol. The outcome was the assessment, not the existence, of publication bias by the original authors. Results: Publication bias was assessed in 25 (11.1%) reviews, increasing with time: from 3.4% before 1998 to 19.0% in those published in 2002. A stepwise logistic regression model included several variables increasing the assessment of publication bias: number of primary studies (>7 compared with ⩽ 7, odds ratio (OR) = 5.40, 95% Cl = 1.36 to 21.44), number of searched databases (⩾4 compared with <3, OR = 8.58, 95% Cl = 1.73 to 42.62), to be a meta-analysis on observational studies (OR = 3.60, 95% Cl = 1.04 to 12.49), and year of publication (2002 compared with <2000, OR = 5.73, 95% Cl = 1.16 to 28.36). In reviews published in the Cochrane Library publication bias was less frequently assessed (OR = 0.06, 95% Cl = 0.01 to 0.69). Conclusions: The frequency of assessment of publication bias in meta-analysis is still very low, although it has improved with time. It is more frequent in meta-analyses on observational studies and it is related to other methodological characteristics of reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0143005X
- Volume :
- 59
- Issue :
- 10
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 18502557
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.2005.033027