American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 150, No. 2: 206-215
Copyright © 1999 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
other |
Evaluation of Old and New Tests of Heterogeneity in Epidemiologic Meta-Analysis
1 Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2 Department of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, Spain
3 Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health Boston, MA
The identification of heterogeneity in effects between studies is a key issue in meta-analyses of observational studies, since it is critical for determining whether it is appropriate to pool the individual results into one summary measure. The result of a hypothesis test is often used as the decision criterion. In this paper, the authors use a large simulation study patterned from the key features of five published epidemiologic meta-analyses to investigate the type I error and statistical power of five previously proposed asymptotic homogeneity tests, a parametric bootstrap version of each of the tests, and t2-bootstrap, a test proposed by the authors. The results show that the asymptotic DerSimonian and Laird Q statistic and the bootstrap versions of the other tests give the correct type I error under the null hypothesis but that all of the tests considered have low statistical power, especially when the number of studies included in the meta-analysis is small (<20). From the point of view of validity, power, and computational ease, the Q statistic is clearly the best choice. The authors found that the performance of all of the tests considered did not depend appreciably upon the value of the value of the pooled odds ratio, both for size and for power. Because tests for heterogeneity will often be underpowered, random effects models can be used routinely, and heterogeneity can be quantified by means of RI', the proportion of the total variance of the pooled effect measure due to between-study variance, and CVB', the between-study coefficient of variation. Am J Epidemiol 1999;150:206–15.
epidemiologic methods; heterogeneity; meta-analysis; models, statistical; significance tests
Reprint requests to Dr. Bahi Takkouche, Facultad de Medicina, Area de Medicina Preventiva, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  T. Pischon, H. Boeing, S. Weikert, N. Allen, T. Key, N. F. Johnsen, A. Tjonneland, M. T. Severinsen, K. Overvad, S. Rohrmann, et al. Body Size and Risk of Prostate Cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., November 1, 2008; 17(11): 3252 - 3261. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Takkouche, C. Regueira-Mendez, and M. Etminan Breast Cancer and Use of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs: A Meta-analysis J Natl Cancer Inst, October 15, 2008; 100(20): 1439 - 1447. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. M. Mostafa Through the Eye of a Child: A Meta-analytic Study of Children's Understanding of Advertising Intent Global Business Review, August 1, 2008; 9(2): 243 - 255. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. L. Bell and F. Dominici Effect Modification by Community Characteristics on the Short-term Effects of Ozone Exposure and Mortality in 98 US Communities Am. J. Epidemiol., April 15, 2008; 167(8): 986 - 997. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Kleiner-Fisman and D. N. Fisman Peripheral Edema and Dopamine Agonists in Parkinson Disease Reply Arch Neurol, October 1, 2007; 64(10): 1547 - 1547. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. K. Pai, J. E. Manson, K. M. Rexrode, C. M. Albert, D. J. Hunter, and E. B. Rimm Complement factor H (Y402H) polymorphism and risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women Eur. Heart J., June 1, 2007; 28(11): 1297 - 1303. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Ferretti, E. Bria, D. Giannarelli, P. Carlini, A. Felici, M. Mandala, P. Papaldo, A. Fabi, M. Ciccarese, F. Cuppone, et al. Is Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism After Therapy Reduced by Low-Molecular-Weight Heparin Compared With Oral Anticoagulants? Chest, December 1, 2006; 130(6): 1808 - 1816. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Wu, W. C. Willett, N. Rifai, I. Shai, J. E. Manson, and E. B. Rimm Is Plasma Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein, Measured With the Widely Used Antibody 4E6, an Independent Predictor of Coronary Heart Disease Among U.S. Men and Women? J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., September 5, 2006; 48(5): 973 - 979. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. A. Hernan, A. Alonso, and S. Hernandez-Diaz Tetanus vaccination and risk of multiple sclerosis: a systematic review. Neurology, July 25, 2006; 67(2): 212 - 215. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Mozaffarian, A. Geelen, I. A. Brouwer, J. M. Geleijnse, P. L. Zock, and M. B. Katan Effect of Fish Oil on Heart Rate in Humans: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials Circulation, September 27, 2005; 112(13): 1945 - 1952. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Takkouche, M. Etminan, and A. Montes-Martinez Personal Use of Hair Dyes and Risk of Cancer: A Meta-analysis JAMA, May 25, 2005; 293(20): 2516 - 2525. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Etminan, B. Takkouche, F. C. Isorna, and A. Samii Risk of ischaemic stroke in people with migraine: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies BMJ, January 8, 2005; 330(7482): 63. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. K. Pai, T. Pischon, J. Ma, J. E. Manson, S. E. Hankinson, K. Joshipura, G. C. Curhan, N. Rifai, C. C. Cannuscio, M. J. Stampfer, et al. Inflammatory Markers and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Men and Women N. Engl. J. Med., December 16, 2004; 351(25): 2599 - 2610. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Etminan, B. Takkouche, and F. Caamano-Isorna The Role of Tomato Products and Lycopene in the Prevention of Prostate Cancer: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., March 1, 2004; 13(3): 340 - 345. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. W. Bollen, C. S. P. M. Uiterwaal, and A. J. van Vught Cumulative Metaanalysis of High-frequency Versus Conventional Ventilation in Premature Neonates Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., November 15, 2003; 168(10): 1150 - 1155. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. T. Reston, S. J. Tregear, and C. M. Turkelson Meta-analysis of short-term and mid-term outcomes following off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting Ann. Thorac. Surg., November 1, 2003; 76(5): 1510 - 1515. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 W. Van Den Noortgate and P. Onghena Multilevel Meta-Analysis: A Comparison with Traditional Meta-Analytical Procedures Educational and Psychological Measurement, October 1, 2003; 63(5): 765 - 790. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. A Bennett Review of analytical methods for prospective cohort studies using time to event data: single studies and implications for meta-analysis Statistical Methods in Medical Research, August 1, 2003; 12(4): 297 - 319. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Etminan, S. Gill, and A. Samii Effect of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on risk of Alzheimer's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies BMJ, July 17, 2003; 327(7407): 128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Huncharek and B. Kupelnick HUNCHAREK AND KUPELNICK RESPOND Am J Public Health, January 1, 2003; 93(1): 12 - 12. [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. van Walraven, R. G. Hart, D. E. Singer, A. Laupacis, S. Connolly, P. Petersen, P. J. Koudstaal, Y. Chang, and B. Hellemons Oral Anticoagulants vs Aspirin in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation: An Individual Patient Meta-analysis JAMA, November 20, 2002; 288(19): 2441 - 2448. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. A. Hernan, H. Checkoway, R. O'Brien, P. Costa-Mallen, I. De Vivo, G. A. Colditz, D. J. Hunter, K. T. Kelsey, and A. Ascherio MAOB intron 13 and COMT codon 158 polymorphisms, cigarette smoking, and the risk of PD Neurology, May 14, 2002; 58(9): 1381 - 1387. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M Delgado-Rodriguez Glossary on meta-analysis J Epidemiol Community Health, August 1, 2001; 55(8): 534 - 536. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. Song, T. A. Sheldon, A. J. Sutton, K. R. Abrams, and D. R. Jones Methods for Exploring Heterogeneity in Meta-Analysis Eval Health Prof, June 1, 2001; 24(2): 126 - 151. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Hernandez-Diaz and L. A. G. Rodriguez Association Between Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs and Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Bleeding/Perforation: An Overview of Epidemiologic Studies Published in the 1990s Arch Intern Med, July 24, 2000; 160(14): 2093 - 2099. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|