Key concepts in clinical epidemiology: detecting and dealing with heterogeneity in meta-analyses

In a meta-analysis, a question always arises. Is it worthwhile to combine estimates from studies of different populations using various formulations of an intervention, evaluating outcomes measured differently? Sometimes even study designs differ. Differences are expected in a meta-analysis. These may be negligible, and a pooled estimate of effect can guide the clinical decision. However, when the differences are large, this estimate may mislead. Effect estimates from study to study differ because of real differences (between-study variability) and because of chance (within-study variability).

Source: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology - January 20, 2021 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Cynthia P. Cordero, Antonio L. Dans Tags: Series Source Type: research