Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26854260›Full record

ArticleJournal of clinical epidemiology2016

The occurrence of Simpson's paradox if site-level effect was ignored in the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database.

Awachana Jiamsakul, Stephen J Kerr, Ezhilarasi Chandrasekaran, Aizobelle Huelgas, Sineenart Taecharoenkul, Sirinya Teeraananchai, Gang Wan, Penh Sun Ly, Sasisopin Kiertiburanakul, Matthew Law and 1 more

Abstract readComparative StudyMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of clinical epidemiology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–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

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Low Cholesterol Associated With TB in People Living With HIV in an Asia-Pacific Cohort.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
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

11 authors.

Awachana JiamsakulThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Electronic address: ajiamsakul@kirby.unsw.edu.au.
Stephen J KerrHIV-NAT, The Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand; Department of Global Health, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Ezhilarasi ChandrasekaranYRGCARE Medical Centre, Chennai, India.
Aizobelle HuelgasResearch Institute for Tropical Medicine, Manila, Philippines.
Sineenart TaecharoenkulResearch Institute for Health Sciences, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Sirinya TeeraananchaiHIV-NAT, The Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre, Bangkok, Thailand.
Gang WanBeijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Penh Sun LyNational Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology & STDs, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Sasisopin KiertiburanakulFaculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Matthew LawThe Kirby Institute, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database (TAHOD)

Funding

The Asia-Pacific HIV Research CollaborationU01AI069907 · NIAID · FOUNDATION FOR AIDS RESEARCH · PI ANNETTE H SOHN · 2006 to 2026
$44.8M
NIAID NIH HHS U01 AI069907
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesIn multisite human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) observational cohorts, clustering of observations often occurs within sites. Ignoring clustering may lead to "Simpson's paradox" (SP) where the trend observed in the aggregated data is reversed when the groups are separated. This study aimed to investigate the SP in an Asian HIV cohort and the effects of site-level adjustment through various Cox regression models. STUDY DESIGN AND

settingSurvival time from combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation was analyzed using four Cox models: (1) no site adjustment; (2) site as a fixed effect; (3) stratification through site; and (4) shared frailty on site.

resultsA total of 6,454 patients were included from 23 sites in Asia. SP was evident in the year of cART initiation variable. Model (1) shows the hazard ratio (HR) for years 2010-2014 was higher than the HR for 2006-2009, compared to 2003-2005 (HR = 0.68 vs. 0.61). Models (2)-(4) consistently implied greater improvement in survival for those who initiated in 2010-2014 than 2006-2009 contrasting findings from model (1). The effects of other significant covariates on survival were similar across four models.

conclusionsIgnoring site can lead to SP causing reversal of treatment effects. Greater emphasis should be made to include site in survival models when possible.

Indexed as

Research DesignSurvival AnalysisAdultAgedAged, 80 and overAnti-HIV AgentsAsiaBiomedical ResearchCohort StudiesDatabases, FactualData Interpretation, StatisticalFemaleForecastingHIV InfectionsHumansMaleAnti-HIV AgentsClusteringCohortCoxHuman immunodeficiency virusSimpson's paradoxYule-Simpson

Identifiers

PMID26854260
PMCPMC4974156

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.