ArticleExperimental aging research2015
Data Harmonization in Aging Research: Not so Fast.
Article in Experimental aging research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Gene-environment interplay in depressive symptoms: moderation by age, sex, and physical illness.Psychological medicine · 2017Pooled it
- IGEMS: The Consortium on Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies - An Update.Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies · 2019Trial
- Heritability of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Depressive Symptoms in Community-Based Middle-Aged and Older Adults from Four International Twin Cohorts.Behavior genetics · 2026Article
- The Interplay of Genes and Environment Across Multiple Studies (IGEMS) Consortium After Fifteen Years.Twin research and human genetics : the official journal of the International Society for Twin Studies · 2026Article
- Dementia risk by metabolic health and obesity in two prospective cohorts.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- The long reach of childhood income inequality: a multinational twin study of gene-environment interplay on adult depressive symptoms.Psychological medicine · 2026Article
- A scoping review of adult NCD-relevant phenotypes measured in today's large child cohort studies.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Terminal Increases in Depressive Symptoms in a Multinational Twin Consortium.Psychological science · 2025Article
- Both childhood and adult perceived financial strain impact age trajectories of change in emotional health in late adulthood.Aging & mental health · 2025Observational
- Self-rated health and mortality: family background and genetic precursors.Discover social science and health · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between fruit and vegetable intakes and depressive symptoms in middle-aged and older adults from four international twin cohorts.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Prospective Effects of Self-Rated Health on Dementia Risk in Two Twin Studies of Aging.Behavior genetics · 2024Article
- Age and Sex Differences in the Genetic Architecture of Measures of Subjective Health: Relationships With Physical Health, Depressive Symptoms, and Episodic Memory.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2024Article
- Dementia and mortality in older adults: A twin study.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2024Article
- What Affects the Quality of Score Transformations? Potential Issues in True-Score Equating Using the Partial Credit Model.Educational and psychological measurement · 2023Article
- Longitudinal analyses indicate bidirectional associations between loneliness and health.Aging & mental health · 2023Article
- Cognitive domain harmonization and cocalibration in studies of older adults.Neuropsychology · 2023Article
- Does sleep duration moderate genetic and environmental contributions to cognitive performance?Sleep · 2022Article
- Worldwide mapping of initiatives that integrate population cohorts.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Estimating prevalence of subjective cognitive decline in and across international cohort studies of aging: a COSMIC study.Alzheimer's research & therapy · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
background/study contextHarmonizing measures in order to conduct pooled data analyses has become a scientific priority in aging research. Retrospective harmonization where different studies lack common measures of comparable constructs presents a major challenge. This study compared different approaches to harmonization with a crosswalk sample who completed multiple versions of the measures to be harmonized.
methodsThrough online recruitment, 1061 participants aged 30 to 98 answered two different depression scales, and 1065 participants answered multiple measures of subjective health. Rational and configural methods of harmonization were applied, using the crosswalk sample to determine their success; and empirical item response theory (IRT) methods were applied in order empirically to compare items from different measures as answered by the same person.
resultsFor depression, IRT worked well to provide a conversion table between different measures. The rational method of extracting semantically matched items from each of the two scales proved an acceptable alternative to IRT. For subjective health, only configural harmonization was supported. The subjective health items used in most studies form a single robust factor.
conclusionCaution is required in aging research when pooling data across studies using different measures of the same construct. Of special concern are response scales that vary widely in the number of response options, especially if the anchors are asymmetrical. A crosswalk sample that has completed items from each of the measures being harmonized allows the investigator to use empirical approaches to identify flawed assumptions in rational or configural approaches to harmonizing.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.