ReviewBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2022
Exploratory analyses in aetiologic research and considerations for assessment of credibility: mini-review of literature.
Review in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise does not cause post-exertional malaise in Veterans with Gulf War Illness: A randomized, controlled, dose-response, crossover study.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2024Trial
- GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Weight Loss: A Critical Review of Mechanisms.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Review
- Persistent endothelial dysfunction is associated with exercise intolerance in adults despite preserved myocardial work 3 years after SARS-CoV-2 infection.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Mental Health and Health-Related Behavioral Patterns Surrounding a Major International Sporting Event: An Observational Study.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Associated-Factor Studies in Biomedical Research: Foundations, Limitations, and Criteria for Appropriate Use.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Dietary diversity, multidimensional gait characteristics, and related biomarkers in older adults: a wearable sensors study.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- Patient-reported BREAST-Q Outcomes of Chest Wall Perforator Flaps in Partial Breast Reconstruction: A Single-center Experience.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Immune function in paediatric trauma patients: a prospective explorative cohort study.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Trends in Kidney Stone Prevalence Among United States Adults With Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study From the NHANES Database, 2007-2020.Journal of diabetes research · 2026Article
- Whom do we prefer to learn from in observational reinforcement learning?PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Gender-specific association between health-related quality of life and sexual function in colorectal cancer patients in Iran: a descriptive-correlational study.International journal of colorectal disease · 2025Article
- Concordance between clinical trial data use request proposals and corresponding publications: A cross-sectional study.Clinical trials (London, England) · 2025Article
- The need for state-of-the-art orthopedic surgical technology in low- to middle income countries : The case of distraction epiphyseolysis for limb lengthening in children with fibular hemimelia in Uzbekistan.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2024Article
- Current use and future perspectives of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM): a survey by the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI).European radiology · 2024Article
- Social connection and end-of-life outcomes among older people in 19 countries: a population-based longitudinal study.The lancet. Healthy longevity · 2024Article
- ESMO Guidance for Reporting Oncology real-World evidence (GROW).ESMO real world data and digital oncology · 2023Article
- Association of sex work and social-structural factors with non-fatal overdose among women who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada.The International journal on drug policy · 2023Article
- Breastfeeding, pregnancy, medicines, neurodevelopment, and population databases: the information desert.International breastfeeding journal · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo provide considerations for reporting and interpretation that can improve assessment of the credibility of exploratory analyses in aetiologic research.
designMini-review of the literature and account of exploratory research principles.
settingThis study focuses on a particular type of causal research, namely aetiologic studies, which investigate the causal effect of one or multiple risk factors on a particular health outcome or disease. The mini review included aetiologic research articles published in four epidemiology journals in the first issue of 2021:
main outcome measuresNumber of exposure-outcome associations reported, grouped by type of analysis (main, sensitivity, and additional).
resultsThe journal articles reported many exposure-outcome associations: a mean number of 33 (range 1-120) exposure-outcome associations for the primary analysis, 30 (0-336) for sensitivity analyses, and 163 (0-1467) for additional analyses. Six considerations were discussed that are important in assessing the credibility of exploratory analyses: research problem, protocol, statistical criteria, interpretation of findings, completeness of reporting, and effect of exploratory findings on future causal research.
conclusionsBased on this mini-review, exploratory analyses in aetiologic research were not always reported properly. Six considerations for reporting of exploratory analyses in aetiologic research were provided to stimulate a discussion about their preferred handling and reporting. Researchers should take responsibility for the results of exploratory analyses by clearly reporting their exploratory nature and specifying which findings should be investigated in future research and how.
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.