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Aggregate data meta‐analysis with time‐to‐event outcomes
Author(s) -
Williamson Paula R.,
Smith Catrin Tudur,
Hutton Jane L.,
Marson Anthony G.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
statistics in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.996
H-Index - 183
eISSN - 1097-0258
pISSN - 0277-6715
DOI - 10.1002/sim.1303
Subject(s) - hazard ratio , meta analysis , statistics , random effects model , event (particle physics) , survival analysis , proportional hazards model , econometrics , hazard , confidence interval , life expectancy , aggregate (composite) , computer science , medicine , mathematics , population , physics , chemistry , organic chemistry , environmental health , materials science , quantum mechanics , composite material
In a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials with time‐to‐event outcomes, an aggregate data approach may be required for some or all included studies. Variation in the reporting of survival analyses in journals suggests that no single method for extracting the log(hazard ratio) estimate will suffice. Methods are described which improve upon a previously proposed method for estimating the log(HR) from survival curves. These methods extend to life‐tables. In the situation where the treatment effect varies over time and the trials in the meta‐analysis have different lengths of follow‐up, heterogeneity may be evident. In order to assess whether the hazard ratio changes with time, several tests are proposed and compared. A cohort study comparing life expectancy of males and females with cerebral palsy and a systematic review of five trials comparing two anti‐epileptic drugs, carbamazepine and sodium valproate, are used for illustration. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.