Considerations when assessing heterogeneity of treatment effect in patient-centered outcomes research

When baseline risk of an outcome varies within a population, the effect of a treatment on that outcome will vary on at least one scale (e.g., additive, multiplicative). This treatment effect heterogeneity is of interest in patient-centered outcomes research. Based on a literature review and solicited expert opinion, we assert: 1) Treatment effect heterogeneity on the additive scale is most interpretable to healthcare providers and patients using effect estimates to guide treatment decision making; heterogeneity reported on the multiplicative scale may be misleading as to the magnitude or direction of a substantively important interaction.

Source: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology - April 11, 2018 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Catherine R. Lesko, Nicholas C. Henderson, Ravi Varadhan Source Type: research