Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals.
Although regression models play a central role in the analysis of medical research projects, there still exist many misconceptions on various aspects of modeling leading to faulty analyses. Indeed, the rapidly developing statistical methodology and its recent advances in regression modeling do not s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262918&type=printable |
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| author | Christine Wallisch Paul Bach Lorena Hafermann Nadja Klein Willi Sauerbrei Ewout W Steyerberg Georg Heinze Geraldine Rauch topic group 2 of the STRATOS initiative |
| author_facet | Christine Wallisch Paul Bach Lorena Hafermann Nadja Klein Willi Sauerbrei Ewout W Steyerberg Georg Heinze Geraldine Rauch topic group 2 of the STRATOS initiative |
| author_sort | Christine Wallisch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although regression models play a central role in the analysis of medical research projects, there still exist many misconceptions on various aspects of modeling leading to faulty analyses. Indeed, the rapidly developing statistical methodology and its recent advances in regression modeling do not seem to be adequately reflected in many medical publications. This problem of knowledge transfer from statistical research to application was identified by some medical journals, which have published series of statistical tutorials and (shorter) papers mainly addressing medical researchers. The aim of this review was to assess the current level of knowledge with regard to regression modeling contained in such statistical papers. We searched for target series by a request to international statistical experts. We identified 23 series including 57 topic-relevant articles. Within each article, two independent raters analyzed the content by investigating 44 predefined aspects on regression modeling. We assessed to what extent the aspects were explained and if examples, software advices, and recommendations for or against specific methods were given. Most series (21/23) included at least one article on multivariable regression. Logistic regression was the most frequently described regression type (19/23), followed by linear regression (18/23), Cox regression and survival models (12/23) and Poisson regression (3/23). Most general aspects on regression modeling, e.g. model assumptions, reporting and interpretation of regression results, were covered. We did not find many misconceptions or misleading recommendations, but we identified relevant gaps, in particular with respect to addressing nonlinear effects of continuous predictors, model specification and variable selection. Specific recommendations on software were rarely given. Statistical guidance should be developed for nonlinear effects, model specification and variable selection to better support medical researchers who perform or interpret regression analyses. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e40f85da1f21433a9d1d6d2614d29d40 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-e40f85da1f21433a9d1d6d2614d29d402025-08-20T02:33:19ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-01171e026291810.1371/journal.pone.0262918Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals.Christine WallischPaul BachLorena HafermannNadja KleinWilli SauerbreiEwout W SteyerbergGeorg HeinzeGeraldine Rauchtopic group 2 of the STRATOS initiativeAlthough regression models play a central role in the analysis of medical research projects, there still exist many misconceptions on various aspects of modeling leading to faulty analyses. Indeed, the rapidly developing statistical methodology and its recent advances in regression modeling do not seem to be adequately reflected in many medical publications. This problem of knowledge transfer from statistical research to application was identified by some medical journals, which have published series of statistical tutorials and (shorter) papers mainly addressing medical researchers. The aim of this review was to assess the current level of knowledge with regard to regression modeling contained in such statistical papers. We searched for target series by a request to international statistical experts. We identified 23 series including 57 topic-relevant articles. Within each article, two independent raters analyzed the content by investigating 44 predefined aspects on regression modeling. We assessed to what extent the aspects were explained and if examples, software advices, and recommendations for or against specific methods were given. Most series (21/23) included at least one article on multivariable regression. Logistic regression was the most frequently described regression type (19/23), followed by linear regression (18/23), Cox regression and survival models (12/23) and Poisson regression (3/23). Most general aspects on regression modeling, e.g. model assumptions, reporting and interpretation of regression results, were covered. We did not find many misconceptions or misleading recommendations, but we identified relevant gaps, in particular with respect to addressing nonlinear effects of continuous predictors, model specification and variable selection. Specific recommendations on software were rarely given. Statistical guidance should be developed for nonlinear effects, model specification and variable selection to better support medical researchers who perform or interpret regression analyses.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262918&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Christine Wallisch Paul Bach Lorena Hafermann Nadja Klein Willi Sauerbrei Ewout W Steyerberg Georg Heinze Geraldine Rauch topic group 2 of the STRATOS initiative Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals. PLoS ONE |
| title | Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals. |
| title_full | Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals. |
| title_fullStr | Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals. |
| title_short | Review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals. |
| title_sort | review of guidance papers on regression modeling in statistical series of medical journals |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0262918&type=printable |
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