ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)1998
Bias in meta-analysis detected by a simple, graphical test. Experts' views are still needed.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 1998. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 27 of them syntheses 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
64 citing papers in PubMed, 27 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The association of psycho-economic factors with postpartum depression without significant medical complications for the mother and infant: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Adjunctive qiliqiangxin capsule for heart failure in predominantly middle-aged and older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2026Pooled it
- The effects of probiotic supplementation on body composition, recovery following exercise-induced muscle damage, and exercise performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials.Physiological reports · 2025Pooled it
- Non-prescription antibiotic use and its predictors among children in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2024Pooled it
- The severity of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and its association with pregnancy complications and neonatal asphyxia: A single-center case analysis and systematic review.Biomolecules & biomedicine · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of non-pharmacological prenatal interventions on fear of childbirth: an overview of systematic reviews and meta-analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke on Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Current environmental health reports · 2024Pooled it
- The Perils of Misinterpreting and Misusing "Publication Bias" in Meta-analyses: An Education Review on Funnel Plot-Based Methods.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Effect of core strength training on the badminton player's performance: A systematic review & meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of digital health interventions on postpartum depression or anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.American journal of obstetrics and gynecology · 2024Pooled it
- Is Forced Coughing Effective in Reducing Pain During Cervical Biopsy?: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2023Pooled it
- Significant potential of melatonin therapy in Parkinson's disease - a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Pooled it
- Effectiveness and safety of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Imaging features of hepatocellular carcinoma in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Abdominal radiology (New York) · 2022Pooled it
- Intermittent Fasting and Obesity-Related Health Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Meta-analyses of Randomized Clinical Trials.JAMA network open · 2021Pooled it
- Alcohol intake and the risk of chronic kidney disease: results from a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effects of psychosocial interventions on children affected by parental HIV/AIDS: a meta-analysis on depression and anxiety.BMC public health · 2019Pooled it
- The effect of bladder catheterization on the incidence of urinary tract infection in laboring women with epidural analgesia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.International urogynecology journal · 2019Pooled it
- Association of CD1 and FcγR gene polymorphisms with Guillain-Barré syndrome susceptibility: a meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2018Pooled it
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Comment on
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
PubMed holds no abstract for this paper.
Indexed as
Identifiers
9492686PMC2665608What 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.