Evidence map›Paper›PMID 12461118›Full record

ReviewJournal of epidemiology and community health2002

Confounding by indication in non-experimental evaluation of vaccine effectiveness: the example of prevention of influenza complications.

E Hak, Th J M Verheij, D E Grobbee, K L Nichol, A W Hoes

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of epidemiology and community health, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
43citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

43 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

E HakJulius Centre for General Practice and Patient Oriented Research, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Netherlands. E.Hak@med.uu.nl
Th J M Verheij
D E Grobbee
K L Nichol
A W Hoes

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Randomised allocation of vaccine or placebo is the preferred method to assess the effects of the vaccine on clinical outcomes relevant to the individual patient. In the absence of phase 3 trials using clinical end points, notably post-influenza complications, alternative non-experimental designs to evaluate vaccine effects or safety are often used. The application of these designs may, however, lead to invalid estimates of vaccine effectiveness or safety. As patients with poor prognosis are more likely to be immunised, selection for vaccination is confounded by patient factors that are also related to clinical end points. This paper describes several design and analytical methods aimed at limiting or preventing this confounding by indication in non-experimental studies. In short, comparison of study groups with similar prognosis, restriction of the study population, and statistical adjustment for dissimilarities in prognosis are important tools and should be considered. Only if the investigator is able to show that confounding by indication is sufficiently controlled for, results of a non-experimental study may be of use to direct an evidence based vaccine policy.

Indexed as

Influenza VaccinesAdultConfounding Factors, EpidemiologicHumansInfluenza, HumanRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignStatistics as TopicVaccinationInfluenza Vaccines

Identifiers

PMID12461118
PMCPMC1756997

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.