Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37452309›Full record

ArticleSystematic reviews2023

Mapping and systematic appraisal of umbrella reviews in epidemiological research: a protocol for a meta-epidemiological study.

Lazaros Belbasis, Robin D Brooker, Emmanuel Zavalis, Angelo Maria Pezzullo, Cathrine Axfors, John Pa Ioannidis

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Systematic reviews, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 3 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

7 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. 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

6 authors.

Lazaros BelbasisMeta-Research Innovation Center Berlin, QUEST Center, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. lazaros.belbasis@ndph.ox.ac.uk.ORCID 0000-0002-2334-6974
Robin D BrookerDepartment of Sociology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
Emmanuel ZavalisMeta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford, Stanford University, Stanford, USA.
Angelo Maria PezzulloSection of Hygiene, Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Cathrine AxforsMeta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford, Stanford University, Stanford, USA.
John Pa IoannidisMeta-Research Innovation Center Berlin, QUEST Center, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionUmbrella review is one of the terms used to describe an overview of systematic reviews. During the last years, a rapid increase in the number of umbrella reviews on epidemiological studies has been observed, but there is no systematic assessment of their methodological and reporting characteristics. Our study aims to fill this gap by performing a systematic mapping of umbrella reviews in epidemiological research.

methodsWe will perform a meta-epidemiological study including a systematic review in MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify all the umbrella reviews that focused on systematic reviews of epidemiological studies and were published from inception until December 31, 2022. We will consider eligible any research article which was designed as an umbrella review and summarized systematic reviews and meta-analyses of epidemiological studies. From each eligible article, we will extract information about the research topic, the methodological characteristics, and the reporting characteristics. We will examine whether the umbrella reviews assessed the strength of the available evidence and the rigor of the included systematic reviews. We will also examine whether these characteristics change across time. DISCUSSION: Our study will systematically appraise the methodological and reporting characteristics of published umbrella reviews in epidemiological literature. The findings of our study can be used to improve the design and conduct of future umbrella reviews, to derive a standardized set of reporting and methodological guidelines for umbrella reviews, and to allow further meta-epidemiological work. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: osf.io/sxzc6.

Indexed as

Research DesignEpidemiologic StudiesHumansMeta-Analysis as TopicReview Literature as TopicSystematic Reviews as TopicCritical appraisalMeta-analysisMeta-researchSystematic reviewUmbrella review

Identifiers

PMID37452309
PMCPMC10347720

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.