Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of Interaction

Detecting interactions is a critical aspect of medical research. When interactions are present, it is essential to calculate confidence intervals for both the main effect and the interaction effect. This requires determining the covariance between the two effects. In a two-stage individual patient d...

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Main Authors: Enwu Liu, Ryan Yan Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/1/141
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author Enwu Liu
Ryan Yan Liu
author_facet Enwu Liu
Ryan Yan Liu
author_sort Enwu Liu
collection DOAJ
description Detecting interactions is a critical aspect of medical research. When interactions are present, it is essential to calculate confidence intervals for both the main effect and the interaction effect. This requires determining the covariance between the two effects. In a two-stage individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis, the coefficients, as well as their variances and covariances, can be calculated for each study. These coefficients can then be combined into an overall estimate using either a fixed-effect or random-effects meta-analysis model. The overall variance of the combined coefficient is typically derived using the inverse-variance method. The most commonly used method for calculating the overall covariance between the main effect and the interaction effect in meta-analysis is multivariate meta-analysis. In this paper, we propose an alternative, straightforward, and transparent method for calculating this covariance when interactions are considered in a meta-analysis. To facilitate implementation, we have developed an R package, ‘covmeta’.
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spelling doaj-art-518b1955fd2b4222b1f62e375802b57b2025-01-10T13:14:35ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-12-0115114110.3390/app15010141Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of InteractionEnwu Liu0Ryan Yan Liu1College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, AustraliaCollege of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, AustraliaDetecting interactions is a critical aspect of medical research. When interactions are present, it is essential to calculate confidence intervals for both the main effect and the interaction effect. This requires determining the covariance between the two effects. In a two-stage individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis, the coefficients, as well as their variances and covariances, can be calculated for each study. These coefficients can then be combined into an overall estimate using either a fixed-effect or random-effects meta-analysis model. The overall variance of the combined coefficient is typically derived using the inverse-variance method. The most commonly used method for calculating the overall covariance between the main effect and the interaction effect in meta-analysis is multivariate meta-analysis. In this paper, we propose an alternative, straightforward, and transparent method for calculating this covariance when interactions are considered in a meta-analysis. To facilitate implementation, we have developed an R package, ‘covmeta’.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/1/141meta-analysisinteractionscovarianceconfidence intervalscorrelation coefficients
spellingShingle Enwu Liu
Ryan Yan Liu
Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of Interaction
Applied Sciences
meta-analysis
interactions
covariance
confidence intervals
correlation coefficients
title Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of Interaction
title_full Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of Interaction
title_fullStr Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of Interaction
title_full_unstemmed Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of Interaction
title_short Imputing Covariance for Meta-Analysis in the Presence of Interaction
title_sort imputing covariance for meta analysis in the presence of interaction
topic meta-analysis
interactions
covariance
confidence intervals
correlation coefficients
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/1/141
work_keys_str_mv AT enwuliu imputingcovarianceformetaanalysisinthepresenceofinteraction
AT ryanyanliu imputingcovarianceformetaanalysisinthepresenceofinteraction