Evidence map›Paper›PMID 18779388›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of epidemiology2008

Evaluation of the potential excess of statistically significant findings in published genetic association studies: application to Alzheimer's disease.

Fotini K Kavvoura, Matthew B McQueen, Muin J Khoury, Rudolph E Tanzi, Lars Bertram, John P A Ioannidis

Abstract readComparative StudyEvaluation Study
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of epidemiology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 9 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

24 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  4. Risk factors for interpersonal violence: an umbrella review of meta-analyses.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2018
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  14. Sensorimotor Learning: Neurocognitive Mechanisms and Individual Differences.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2017
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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

6 authors.

Fotini K KavvouraDepartment of Hygiene and Epidemiology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece.
Matthew B McQueen
Muin J Khoury
Rudolph E Tanzi
Lars Bertram
John P A Ioannidis

Funding

Social Demographic Moderation of Genome Wide Associations for Body Mass IndexR01HD060726 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · PI BOARDMAN, JASON D, MCQUEEN, MATTHEW B · 2010 to 2014
$2.7M
NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD060726
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The authors evaluated whether there is an excess of statistically significant results in studies of genetic associations with Alzheimer's disease reflecting either between-study heterogeneity or bias. Among published articles on genetic associations entered into the comprehensive AlzGene database (www.alzgene.org) through January 31, 2007, 1,348 studies included in 175 meta-analyses with 3 or more studies each were analyzed. The number of observed studies (O) with statistically significant results (P = 0.05 threshold) was compared with the expected number (E) under different assumptions for the magnitude of the effect size. In the main analysis, the plausible effect size of each association was the summary effect presented in the respective meta-analysis. Overall, 19 meta-analyses (all with eventually nonsignificant summary effects) had a documented excess of O over E: Typically single studies had significant effects pointing in opposite directions and early summary effects were dissipated over time. Across the whole domain, O was 235 (17.4%), while E was 164.8 (12.2%) (P < 10(-6)). The excess showed a predilection for meta-analyses with nonsignificant summary effects and between-study heterogeneity. The excess was seen for all levels of statistical significance and also for studies with borderline P values (P = 0.05-0.10). The excess of significant findings may represent significance-chasing biases in a setting of massive testing.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseBiasGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseHumans

Identifiers

PMID18779388
PMCPMC3695656

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.