Methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine meta-analyses in highest-impact journals

Dhruv Mahtta; Ahmed Altibi; Mohamed M. Gad; Amjad Samara; Amr F. Barakat; Rodrigo Bagur; Hend Mansoor; Hani Jneid; Salim S. Virani; Mamas A. Mamas; Ahmad Masri; Islam Y. Elgendy

doi:10.1161/JAHA.121.021367

Methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine meta-analyses in highest-impact journals

Dhruv Mahtta, Ahmed Altibi, Mohamed M. Gad, Amjad Samara, Amr F. Barakat, Rodrigo Bagur, Hend Mansoor, Hani Jneid, Salim S. Virani, Mamas A. Mamas, Ahmad Masri, Islam Y. Elgendy

Pharmacy Practice and Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (SciVal)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Well-conducted meta-analyses are considered to be at the top of the evidence-based hierarchy pyramid, with an expansion of these publications within the cardiovascular research arena. There are limited data evaluating the trends and quality of such publications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the Medline database, we retrieved cardiovascular medicine-related systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, The British Medical Journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, European Heart Journal, and Journal of American College of Cardiology between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018. Among 6406 original investigations published during the study period, meta-analyses represented 422 (6.6%) articles, with an annual decline in the proportion of published meta-analyses (8.7% in 2012 versus 4.6% in 2018, P_trend =0.002). A substantial number of studies failed to incorporate elements of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines (51.9%) and only a minority of studies (10.4%) were registered in PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews). Fewer manuscripts failed to incorporate the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology elements over time (60.2% in 2012 versus 40.0% in 2018, P_trend <0.001) whereas the number of meta-analyses registered at PROSPERO has increased (2.4% in 2013 versus 17.5% in 2018, P_trend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals has declined over time. Although there is an increasing trend in compliance with quality-based guidelines, the overall compliance remains low.

Original language	English
Article number	e021367
Journal	Journal of the American Heart Association
Volume	10
Issue number	18
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.021367
State	Published - 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Open Access funding was provided by the Qatar National Library.

Funding Information:
Dr. Virani has disclosures unrelated to the article including Department of Veterans Affairs, World Heart Federation, Tahir and Jooma Family, Honorarium: American College of Cardiology (Associate Editor for Innovations, acc.org), Steering Committee Member: PALM (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management) registry at Duke Clinical Research Institute (no financial remuneration). Dr. Mamas reports grants from Biosensors, grants from Terumo, grants from Abbott, personal fees from Daiichi Sankyo, and personal fees from Pfizer outside the submitted work. Dr. Masri reports grants and personal fees from Pfizer, grants and personal fees from Akcea, grants from Ultromics, personal fees from Ionis, personal fees from Cytokinetics, personal fees from Alnylam, and personal fees from Eidos outside the submitted work. Dr. Elgendy has disclosures unrelated to this article content including receiving research grants from Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. The remaining authors have no disclosures to report.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.

Keywords

Cardiovascular
Meta-analysis
Quality assessment
Trend

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine

Access to Document

10.1161/JAHA.121.021367

Cite this

Mahtta, D., Altibi, A., Gad, M. M., Samara, A., Barakat, A. F., Bagur, R., Mansoor, H., Jneid, H., Virani, S. S., Mamas, M. A., Masri, A., & Elgendy, I. Y. (2021). Methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine meta-analyses in highest-impact journals. Journal of the American Heart Association, 10(18), [e021367]. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.021367

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abstract = "BACKGROUND: Well-conducted meta-analyses are considered to be at the top of the evidence-based hierarchy pyramid, with an expansion of these publications within the cardiovascular research arena. There are limited data evaluating the trends and quality of such publications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the Medline database, we retrieved cardiovascular medicine-related systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, The British Medical Journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, European Heart Journal, and Journal of American College of Cardiology between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018. Among 6406 original investigations published during the study period, meta-analyses represented 422 (6.6%) articles, with an annual decline in the proportion of published meta-analyses (8.7% in 2012 versus 4.6% in 2018, Ptrend =0.002). A substantial number of studies failed to incorporate elements of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines (51.9%) and only a minority of studies (10.4%) were registered in PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews). Fewer manuscripts failed to incorporate the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology elements over time (60.2% in 2012 versus 40.0% in 2018, Ptrend <0.001) whereas the number of meta-analyses registered at PROSPERO has increased (2.4% in 2013 versus 17.5% in 2018, Ptrend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals has declined over time. Although there is an increasing trend in compliance with quality-based guidelines, the overall compliance remains low.",

keywords = "Cardiovascular, Meta-analysis, Quality assessment, Trend",

author = "Dhruv Mahtta and Ahmed Altibi and Gad, {Mohamed M.} and Amjad Samara and Barakat, {Amr F.} and Rodrigo Bagur and Hend Mansoor and Hani Jneid and Virani, {Salim S.} and Mamas, {Mamas A.} and Ahmad Masri and Elgendy, {Islam Y.}",

note = "Funding Information: Open Access funding was provided by the Qatar National Library. Funding Information: Dr. Virani has disclosures unrelated to the article including Department of Veterans Affairs, World Heart Federation, Tahir and Jooma Family, Honorarium: American College of Cardiology (Associate Editor for Innovations, acc.org), Steering Committee Member: PALM (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management) registry at Duke Clinical Research Institute (no financial remuneration). Dr. Mamas reports grants from Biosensors, grants from Terumo, grants from Abbott, personal fees from Daiichi Sankyo, and personal fees from Pfizer outside the submitted work. Dr. Masri reports grants and personal fees from Pfizer, grants and personal fees from Akcea, grants from Ultromics, personal fees from Ionis, personal fees from Cytokinetics, personal fees from Alnylam, and personal fees from Eidos outside the submitted work. Dr. Elgendy has disclosures unrelated to this article content including receiving research grants from Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. The remaining authors have no disclosures to report. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.",

year = "2021",

doi = "10.1161/JAHA.121.021367",

language = "English",

volume = "10",

number = "18",

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T1 - Methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine meta-analyses in highest-impact journals

AU - Mahtta, Dhruv

AU - Altibi, Ahmed

AU - Gad, Mohamed M.

AU - Samara, Amjad

AU - Barakat, Amr F.

AU - Bagur, Rodrigo

AU - Mansoor, Hend

AU - Jneid, Hani

AU - Virani, Salim S.

AU - Mamas, Mamas A.

AU - Masri, Ahmad

AU - Elgendy, Islam Y.

N1 - Funding Information: Open Access funding was provided by the Qatar National Library. Funding Information: Dr. Virani has disclosures unrelated to the article including Department of Veterans Affairs, World Heart Federation, Tahir and Jooma Family, Honorarium: American College of Cardiology (Associate Editor for Innovations, acc.org), Steering Committee Member: PALM (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management) registry at Duke Clinical Research Institute (no financial remuneration). Dr. Mamas reports grants from Biosensors, grants from Terumo, grants from Abbott, personal fees from Daiichi Sankyo, and personal fees from Pfizer outside the submitted work. Dr. Masri reports grants and personal fees from Pfizer, grants and personal fees from Akcea, grants from Ultromics, personal fees from Ionis, personal fees from Cytokinetics, personal fees from Alnylam, and personal fees from Eidos outside the submitted work. Dr. Elgendy has disclosures unrelated to this article content including receiving research grants from Caladrius Biosciences, Inc. The remaining authors have no disclosures to report. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - BACKGROUND: Well-conducted meta-analyses are considered to be at the top of the evidence-based hierarchy pyramid, with an expansion of these publications within the cardiovascular research arena. There are limited data evaluating the trends and quality of such publications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the Medline database, we retrieved cardiovascular medicine-related systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, The British Medical Journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, European Heart Journal, and Journal of American College of Cardiology between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018. Among 6406 original investigations published during the study period, meta-analyses represented 422 (6.6%) articles, with an annual decline in the proportion of published meta-analyses (8.7% in 2012 versus 4.6% in 2018, Ptrend =0.002). A substantial number of studies failed to incorporate elements of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines (51.9%) and only a minority of studies (10.4%) were registered in PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews). Fewer manuscripts failed to incorporate the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology elements over time (60.2% in 2012 versus 40.0% in 2018, Ptrend <0.001) whereas the number of meta-analyses registered at PROSPERO has increased (2.4% in 2013 versus 17.5% in 2018, Ptrend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals has declined over time. Although there is an increasing trend in compliance with quality-based guidelines, the overall compliance remains low.

AB - BACKGROUND: Well-conducted meta-analyses are considered to be at the top of the evidence-based hierarchy pyramid, with an expansion of these publications within the cardiovascular research arena. There are limited data evaluating the trends and quality of such publications. The objective of this study was to evaluate the methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using the Medline database, we retrieved cardiovascular medicine-related systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, The British Medical Journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, European Heart Journal, and Journal of American College of Cardiology between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2018. Among 6406 original investigations published during the study period, meta-analyses represented 422 (6.6%) articles, with an annual decline in the proportion of published meta-analyses (8.7% in 2012 versus 4.6% in 2018, Ptrend =0.002). A substantial number of studies failed to incorporate elements of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines (51.9%) and only a minority of studies (10.4%) were registered in PROSPERO (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews). Fewer manuscripts failed to incorporate the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses or Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology elements over time (60.2% in 2012 versus 40.0% in 2018, Ptrend <0.001) whereas the number of meta-analyses registered at PROSPERO has increased (2.4% in 2013 versus 17.5% in 2018, Ptrend <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of cardiovascular medicine-related meta-analyses published in the highest impact journals has declined over time. Although there is an increasing trend in compliance with quality-based guidelines, the overall compliance remains low.

KW - Cardiovascular

KW - Meta-analysis

KW - Quality assessment

KW - Trend

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Methodological rigor and temporal trends of cardiovascular medicine meta-analyses in highest-impact journals

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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